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PRIESTS     AND     PEOPLE 


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'  And,  were  Ma^ce  alive  to-day  .      .  he  might  truly  exclaim  as  he  beheld  the  golden  column 
of  priest -money  rearing  itx  xfiameless  yellow  crest,  d-c."  (p.  148). 


PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 
IN   IRELAND 


BY 


MICHAEL   J.    F.    MCCARTHY 

B.A.,  T.C.D..  BARRISTER-AT-LAW, 

AUTHOR     OF     "FIVE     YEARS     IN     IRELAND" 


"  In  the  relations  between  the  State  and  the  Church,  my  Government 
intends  to  maintain  strictly  the  separation  of  the  temporal  and  the 
spiritual  ;  to  honour  the  clergy,  but  to  keep  it  within  the  limits  of  the 
sanctuary  ;  to  bring  to  religion  and  to  liberty  of  conscience  the  most 
unlimited  respect,  but  to  preserve  inflexibly  intact  the  prerogatives  of 
the  civil  power,  and  the  rights  of  the  national  sovereignty." — King  of 
Italy's  Speech  from  thk  Throne,  February  igo2. 


SECOND    IMPRESSION 


DUBLIN 
HODGES,    FIGGIS    &    CO.,    Ltd. 

104  GRAFTON  STREET 

LONDON 

SIMPKIN,  MARSHALL,  HAMILTON,  KENT  6-  CO.,  Ltd. 

1902 


First  Impression,  five  thousand  copies,  August  13,  1902 
Second  Impression,  five  thousand  copies,  November  i,  1902 


PREFACE  TO   SECOND   IMPRESSION 

The  first  edition  of  Priests  and  People  was  practi- 
cally sold  out  within  a  fortnight  after  its  appearance. 
Unwilling  to  presume  too  much  upon  public  favour, 
I  had  made  no  provision  for  reproducing  the  work ; 
and,  in  consequence,  we  were  unable  to  supply  the 
trade  during  the  greater  portion  of  September  and 
all  October. 

I  sincerely  thank  the  many  newspapers  that 
reviewed  the  work,  and  I  express  my  indebtedness 
not  less  to  those  critics  who  have  pointed  out  my 
shortcomings  than  to  those,  and  they  were  many, 
who  gave  me  their  unqualified  praise. 

I  have  incorporated  the  most  recent  county 
census  papers  in  this  edition,  and  it  is  satisfactory 
to  me  to  find  that  my  estimates  of  those  counties 
in  the  first  edition  have  been  verified  by  the  official 
returns. 

MICHAEL  J.  F.  MCCARTHY. 


BY   THE    SAME   AUTHOR 

Eighth  Edition,  price  Is.  6d. 

Five  Years  in  Ireland,  1895=1900 

568  Pages  of  Letterpress,  35  Pages  of  Illustrations,  including 
42  Portraits 

Five  Years  in  Ireland,  now  in  its  eighth  edition,  was  pub- 
lished in  March  1901,  and  is  the  most  successful  Irish  book 
on  record, 

AUgemeine  Zeitung. — "One  of  those  works  which  announce  a  revohition  in 
public  opinion,  and  a  new  epoch  in  the  history  of  Ireland.  There  is  no  book  in  the 
English  literature  of  to-day  which  has  made  such  an  immense  sensation  as  this 
book." 

Spectator.— "One  can  almost  see  the  tears  between  the  lines.  Absence  of 
personalities,  abnegation  of  ancient  grudges,  earnestness  and  common-sense  are 
his  attributes,  and  he  does  not  lack  humour." 

Earl  of  Rosebery,  K.G.— "Broad,  independent,  and  fearless." 

Primate  Alexander.—"  Words  so  true  and  temperate,  so  full  of  impartial 
thought  and  luminous  common-sense." 

Daily  News.— "  Language  which,  had  he  uttered  it  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
would  have  Itrought  him  to  the  stake  ;  or  landed  him  in  a  Roman  dungeon  had  he 
given  expression  to  it  anywhere  in  the  States  of  the  Church  before  the  King  of  Italy 
made  an  end  of  the  temporal  power." 

Daily  Chronicle.— "Mr.  McCarthy  is  a  liberal-minded  Irish  patriot  in  the  sense 
that  he  can  judge  calmly  and  moderately  about  the  troubles  of  his  country  without 
allowing  himself  to  be  carried  away  by  excitement  or  prejudice." 

Scotsman. — "  No  one  could  consider  the  accounts  which  it  gives  of  the  super- 
stitious ignorance  of  the  Irish  peasantry  and  avoid  reflecting  that  the  proper  work 
of  the  Church  must  be  badly  done  in  Ireland.  ...  An  unusually  well-informed 
history." 

Daily  Man.—"  Himself  a  Catholic,  he  would  check  the  power  of  the  priests  and 
permit  the  Catholic  laity  to  exert  their  proper  influence." 

Irish  Times. — "This  book  should  be  read  by  every  Irishman  and  Irishwoman 
who  desires  to  know  the  truth  about  Ireland." 

Daily  Express  (Dublin).—"  No  future  historian  can  afford  to  dispense  with  its 
wisdom  and  guidance." 

Globe.— "Is  full  of  sense  and  sincerity.  .  .  .  Mr.  M«Carthy  has  in  him  the 
characteristics  of  the  real  patriot." 

Birmingham  Daily  Post.— "A  man  whose  fervent  patriotism  does  not  prevent 
a  clear  appreciation  of  the  weak  side  of  Nationalist  politics." 

British  Weekly.— "  Five  Years  in  Ireland  is  the  book  of  the  hour  amongst 
all  creeds  and  classes." 

Morning  Post.— "Shows  great  range  of  knowledge." 

New  Ireland  Review  (Jesuit).— "A  virulent  and  sustained  denunciation  of 
the  Catholic  clergy  of  Ireland." 

Freeman's  Journal  (Clerical).— "  Its  dulness  is  an  absolute  antidote  to  its 
venom." 

Deutsche  Rundschau.—"  Treats  all  public  questions  with  a  degree  of  upright- 
ness which  has  never  been  equalled  amongst  Irish  Catholics." 


LONDON 

SIMPKIN,  MARSHALL,  HAMILTON,  KENT  &  CO.,  Ltd. 

DUBLIN:   HODGES,  FIGGIS  &  CO.,  Ltd. 


CONTENTS 


PASS 

Introduction xii 

CHAP. 

I.  The  Universal  Cause  of  Catholic  Ireland's 


Degeneracy       

II.  Priests  and  People  in  Louth  and  Armagh 

III.  The  Fermanagh  Borderland  and  Monaghan 

IV.  Priests  and  People  in  Belfast  . 
V.  A  Little  While  in  the  North  . 

VI.  Sacrileges     and     Burglaries     of     Catholic 

Churches  . 
VII.  One  Way  to  make  Millions 
VIII.  In  Connaught 
IX.  In  Connaught  {continued) 
X.  In  Connaught  {continued) 
XI.  Masses,  Mendicancy,  and  Mystification  . 
XII.  In  Connaught  {continued)      .... 

XIII.  The  Apparitions  and  Miracles  at  Knock 

XIV.  In  Connaught  {concluded)     .... 
XV.  In  Catholic  Dublin      .... 

XVI.  In  Catholic  Dublin  {continued)    . 


I 
II 
36 
53 
78 

94 
108 
150 
161 

175 

188 
215 
228 

253 
268 
282 


vm 


CONTENTS 


CHAP. 

XVII.  The  Priests'  Army  in  Dublin  and  its  Work  . 
XVIII.  The  Dublin  Regular  Priests  and  their  Work 
XIX.  The  Christian  Brothers  and  a  Story 
XX.  In  the  Province  of  Leinster     . 
XXI.  The  Nuns  of  Dublin  and  their  Work 
XXII.  The   Nuns   in  the  Schools,  Hospitals,  Poor 
houses,  and  Magdalen  Asylums    . 
XXIII.  In  the  Province  of  Leinster  {continued) 
XXIV.  In  the  County  of  Wexford 
XXV.  The  Priests'  Army  in  Leinster  . 
XXVI.  In  the  Province  of  Munster 
XXVII.  In  the  Province  of  Munster  {continued) 
XXVin.  In  Kerry,  Clarf,  and  Limerick — Summary  of 
the  Priests'  Army  in  Munster 
XXIX.  Summary    of    the    Priests'    Power.     The 

Link  Missing 

XXX.  Who  are  the  Priests? 
XXXI.  Is  Christ  Responsible  ?        .        .        . 
Notes 


PAGE 

309 

33' 
370 

383 
417 

426 

439 
452 
472 
481 
505 

528 

551 

573 
606 
620 


AUTHOR'S    NOTE 

I  EXPRESS  my  indebtedness  to  very  many  friends,  and 
especially  to  Captain  Frederick  H.  Crawford  of  Belfast 
and  Mr.  Arthur  T.  Ellis  of  Dublin,  for  their  kindness 
on  many  occasions  while  I  was  writing  Priests  and 
People.  Many  of  the  most  interesting  photographs 
were  taken  for  me  by  Mr.  Ellis.  With  reference  to 
the  frontispiece,  while  it  is,  of  course,  an  ideal  picture 
intended  to  emphasise  a  contrast  which  strikes  every 
student  of  life  in  Roman  Catholic  Ireland,  still  it  is 
only  ideal  in  part.  The  church  is  a  real  church,  ex- 
pensive and  ostentatious  it  is  true,  but  not  exception- 
ally so  for  Ireland ;  the  village  is  a  real  one,  not  many 
miles  away  from  the  church,  and  it  is  not,  by  any 
means,  an  exceptionally  wretched  village.  Several 
more  glaring  contrasts,  existing  in  fact,  were  presented 
for  my  adoption  ;  but  a  reluctance  to  hurt  the  feelings 
of  the  inhabitants  of  any  stated  locality  induced  me 
to  adopt  the  idea  of  the  present  frontispiece. 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

(FORTY-SIX  IN  NUMBER) 

Priests  and  People Frontispiece 

The    New    Cathedral     and     "  Ara    Cceli  "    at 

Armagh To  face  page    17 

A  Poor  Burial   Service  in   an  Irish   Country 

Chapel „  40 

Cathedral  Street,  Letterkenny  .        .        .        .         „  60 
Thb  Queenstown   Cathedral   overlooks  a  De- 
serted Harbour   .        .        • ,  82 

Familiar  Figures  at  a  Chapel  Corner        .        .         „         loi 

All  Hallows  College,  Dublin,  and  ) 

>  „  122 

St.  Patrick's  Training  College,  Dublin  (two)  ) 

Cistercian  Monastery,  Mount  Melleray      .        .         ,,  134 

Clonlifpe  College,  Dublin,  and  ) 

'  .        .        .         „  148 

A  Dublin  Cul  de  Sac  (two)     .      \ 


The  Drimin  Dubh  Dilis 

The  Vision  of  Margaret  Mary 

A  Pastor  and  his  Flock   . 

The  Ideal  Child  op  Mary 

In  the  Phcbnix  Park,  Dublin  . 


165 
193 
215 
236 
268 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  xi 

Scenes  on  the  Dublin  Street  Sides  (five)         To  face  page  277 

The  Pro-Cathedral,  Dublin „  285 

The  Pro-Cathedral,  Dublin „  290 

Poor  Roman  Catholic  Children,  Dublin  (two)  .  „  303 

A  Dublin  Public-House „  321 

Poor  Dublin  Streets  (two) „  337 

Poor  Roman  Catholic  Women,  Dublin  (two)     .  ,,  351 

PooB  Dublin  Roman  Catholic  Children  (two)  .  „  376 

Roman  Catholic  Women,  Fish-Curing  .       .  „  399 
Outside  the  Condemned  Cells,  Dublin  Police  "\ 

Court,  and                                                          \  ^^  425 
At  an  Old  Clothes  Mart,  Dublin  (two)       .       ) 
St.  Patrick's  Church,  and                     \ 


St.  Kibran's  College,  Kilkenny  (two)  J 
Young  Catholic  Irishmen   Mining  in   British 

Columbia,  near  Alaska 

The  Late  Rev.  S.  B.  Hore,  O.S.F 

The  New  Thurles  Cathedral        .... 
Waterpord  Cathedral,  Interior,  and 
The  Dominican  Chapel,  Waterford  (two)^ 
Kenmare  Convent  and  Church,  and  ^ 

De  La  Salle  Training  College,  Waterford  (two) J 

Jesus  at  Gethsemane 

The  Crucifixion 


439 

451 
467 
481 

499 

531 

607 
610 


INTRODUCTION 

In  Priests  and  People  I  attempt  to  perform  a  duty 
whicli  is  neither  pleasant  nor  unattended  with  risk. 

A  new  power — or,  rather,  an  old  power  in  a  new 
environment — has  been  gathering  force  in  Ireland 
during  the  later  decades  of  the  nineteenth  century ; 
and  before  this  rising  sun  all  classes  of  people  in 
Ireland  are  bowing  themselves  down  in  worship  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent. 

This  new  power,  this  rising  sun,  is  the  sacerdotal 
organisation  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  the 
Church  to  which  I  myself  and  the  majority  of  Irish- 
men belong. 

The  framework  of  society  in  Ireland  has,  by  virtue 
of  the  growth  of  this  power,  undergone  a  com,plete 
reconstruction ;  and  events  have  been  moving  so 
precipitately,  that  the  condition  of  things  which  con- 
fronts the  statesman  of  to-day  is  almost  entirely 
different  from  the  circumstances  which  arrested  Mr. 
Gladstone's  attention  when  he  introduced  his  first 
Home  Rule  Bill  in  1886.  "Rome  Rule,"  as  it  was 
called,  was  then,  in  the  opinion  of  many  Roman 
Catholics,  myself  included,  an  unsubstantial  chimera. 
To-day  "  Rome  Rule  "  is,  in  a  limited  but  well-defined 
form,  an  accomplished  fact ;  and  our  chief  consolation 
is  that  it  is  not  accompanied  by  what  was  fallaciously 


INTRODUCTION  xiii 

described  as  "  Home  Rule,"  for  then  its  scope  would 
have  been  unlimited  and  undefinable. 

Our  Roman  Catholic  priests,  monks,  and  nuns  now 
possess  an  effective  organisation  in  Ireland  which 
outnumbers  the  services  of  the  imperial  and  local 
governments  combined.  They  constitute  an  unmarried 
and  anti-marriage  league,  apart  from  the  people,  and 
working  for  objects  which  do  not  tend  to  enhance  the 
common  weal. 

And  so  great  has  their  power  grown,  that  the  popular 
press  has  become  a  mere  laudatory  chronicle  of  their 
words  and  deeds,  and  our  poor,  popular  members  of 
Parliament  find  their  most  remunerative  employment 
in  securing  the  redress  of  sacerdotal  grievances,  and 
working  for  the  increase  of  sacerdotal  emoluments. 

The  press  and  the  platform  find  it  to  their  immediate 
interest  to  swell  the  chorus  of  flattery  in  which  the 
praises  of  this  great  new  power — or.  rather,  this  old, 
world-condemned  power  under  new  circumstances — are 
being  chanted  throughout  the  land. 

But  more  ominous  and  more  eloquent  than  the  open 
adulation  of  the  noAvspapers  and  the  orators  is  the  dis- 
mayed silence  with  which  the  growth  and  consolidation 
of  the  priests'  power  is  being  watched  by  the  merchants, 
the  professional  men,  and  the  civil  servants  of  every 
grade,  from  the  clerk  of  petty  sessions  to  the  judge  on 
the  bench,  from  the  sergeant  of  police  to  the  highest 
permanent  official  in  Dublin  Castle. 

For  all  of  them  the  power  of  the  priest  is  the  one 
unspeakable,  unmentionable  thing. 

The  British  public,  reading  the  overt  parliamentary 
proceedings  in  connection  with  Ireland,  rarely  hears 
of  this  new  power  from  the  lips  of  a  member  of  the 
Government.     For,  although  Acts  of  Parliament  are 


xiv  INTRODUCTION 

passed  annually,  and  departmental  concessions  are 
made  daily  in  order  to  confer  some  pecuniary  benefit 
on  the  priests,  the  name  of  the  sacerdotal  organisation 
is  never  publicly  mentioned. 

The  duty  which  I  undertake  in  this  work  is  that  of 
presenting  the  public,  as  I  believe  for  the  first  time, 
with  a  survey  and  examination  of  the  priests'  forces 
in  Ireland,  as  they  operate  upon  the  daily  lives  of  the 
people. 

The  concentrated  energies  of  this  old  power  in  its 
new  Irish  environment  are  persistently  directed  to  the 
achievement  of  four  main  objects,  all  of  which  are 
antagonistic  to  the  national  weal : — 

1.  Its  own  aggrandisement  as  a  league,  apart  from 

the  body  politic  in  which  it  flourishes,  but  in 
alliance  with  an  alien  organisation  whose  in- 
terests are  not  the  interests  of  us  the  Roman 
Catholic  laity  of  Ireland. 

2.  Moulding  the  ductile  minds  of  our  youth,  so  that 

their  thoughts  in  manhood  may  run,  not  in  the 
direction  of  enlightenment  and  self-improvement, 
but  in  obedient  channels  converging  to  swell  the 
tide  of  the  priests'  prosperity. 

3.  Perplexing  and  interfering  with  our  adult  popula- 

tion in  every  sphere  of  secular  affairs,  estranging 
them  from,  and  embittering  them  against,  the 
majority  of  their  fellow- citizens  in  the  United 
Kingdom,  imbuing  them  with  disloyalty  to  the 
commonwealth  of  which  they  are  members,  the 
result  being  that  our  people  are  the  least  pros- 
perous— indeed  the  only  unprosperous — com- 
munity in  the  British  Isles. 

4.  Terrifying  the  enfeebled  minds  of  the  credulous, 

the  invalid,  and  the  aged,  with  the  result  that 


INTRODUCTION  xv 

the  savings  of  penurious  thrift,  the  inheritance 
of  parental  industry,  the  competence  of  respect- 
ability are  all  alike  captured  in  their  turn  from 
expectant    next-of-kin    and    garnered   into   the 
sacerdotal  treasury. 
WhUe  every  new  Act  of  Parliament  passed  for  the 
general  benefit  of  Ireland  is  taken  full  advantage  of  in 
those  counties  where  the  Protestants  are  in  a  majority, 
in  the  Roman  Catholic  portion  of  Ireland  the  benefi- 
cence of  every  such  measure  is  perverted  to  the  especial 
uses  of  the  priests'  organisation,  and  the  people  remain 
as  discontented  as  if  it  had  never  been  passed. 

Such  is  the  condition  of  things  which  I  shall  have 
regretfully  to  portray. 

I  impute  no  bad  motives  to  any  one  concerned  in 
the  disastrous  phenomenon,  either  to  the  priests  them- 
selves, who  are  inveigled  into  the  existing  organisation 
before  they  have  come  to  the  use  of  reason  ;  or  to  the 
British  Governments,  who  have  been  led  to  accept  the 
priests  as  the  authoritative  exponents  of  public  opinion 
in  Ireland,  and  have,  in  consequence,  done  so  much 
during  the  past  thirty  years  to  inflate  the  power  and 
pretensions  of  the  sacerdotal  organisation. 

Following  the  precedent  which  I  laid  down  for 
myself  in  Five  Years  in  Ireland,  I  only  deal  with 
matters  of  public  comment  and  notoriety,  and  I  am 
not  actuated  by  feelings  of  animus  or  personal  enmity 
towards  any  individual,  lay  or  sacerdotal,  or  any  body 
of  individuals  in  my  native  land. 

I  have  discarded  the  immense  amount  of  private 
information  placed  at  my  disposal,  imputing  offences 
against  cardinal  virtues  to  various  members  of  the 
sacerdotal  organisation,  male  and  female. 

I  have  endeavoured  to  merit  acrain  the  encomium 


xvi  INTRODUCTION 

passed  upon  my  last  work  by  the  Spectator :  "  He 
never  descends  to  personalities.  Thus  he  keeps  his 
pages  sweet,  and  he  takes  us  further  into  Irish 
sympathies  than  one  had  hoped  for  from  an  Irish- 
man writing  on  Ireland." 

I  have  written  strongly,  as  the  occasion  demands, 
but  never  personally. 

I  am  a  Catholic  ;  I  am  an  Irishman ;  I  have  a  right 
to  speak. 

I  am  in  favour  of  religious  equality  and  toleration 
in  the  fullest  sense  of  those  terms. 

I  admire  the  British  people  for  their  extraordinary 
tenderness  to  the  small  Catholic  minority  in  Great 
Britain,  who  constitute  less  than  one-twentieth  of  the 
population,  and  have  only  3  fellow-religionists  among 
the  567  parliamentary  representatives  of  Great  Britain 
in  the  House  of  Commons. 

I  condemn  the  policy  to  which  our  priests  have 
now  committed  themselves,  in  the  plenitude  of  their 
power  in  Ireland. 

It  is  not  a  policy  of  forbearance,  but  of  religious 
intolerance  and  bigotry  which  is  ultimately  bound  to 
develop  into  religious  persecution ;  and  is  destined  to 
eventuate  either  in  revolution,  or,  as  seems  more  prob- 
able at  the  moment,  in  the  undermining  of  individual 
and  corporate  morality,  in  the  emasculation  of  our 
people's  character,  and  in  the  rancorous  wasting  of 
national  decline. 

MICHAEL  J.  F.  M'CARTHY. 


PRIESTS    AND    PEOPLE 


CHAPTER  I 

THE    UNIVERSAL    CAUSE 

"  A  universal  effect  demonstrates  a  universal  cause." 

— James  Haerington. 

The  unsatisfactory  condition  of  Roman  Catholic  Ireland 
is  the  universal  effect  which  has  occupied  my  attention 
ever  since  I  began  to  think  seriously,  and  which  I  shall 
discuss  in  these  pages  with  a  view  to  demonstrating  the 
universal  cause  from  which  it  springs. 

It  is  admitted  and  deplored  by  all  who  take  a  sym- 
pathetic interest  in  Roman  Catholic  Ireland,  whether 
they  be  Irishmen  like  myself.  Englishmen,  foreigners, 
or  Americans,  that  we,  Irish  Roman  Catholic  people, 
are  unable  to  take  advantage  of  our  opportunities  and 
to  compete  with,  or  claim  an  equality  with,  the  other 
white  races  of  Northern  Europe.  The  English,  the 
Scotch,  the  Welsh,  the  Protestant  Irish,  the  Teutons, 
the  French,  the  Belgians,  the  Hungarians,  the  Dutch, 
the  Danes,  the  Scandinavians,  the  Swiss,  and  even  the 
Finns  —  many  of  them  small  peoples  who  possess  no 
greater  natural  advantages  than  the  Irish  people  in 
position,  in  climate,  or  in  soil — all  can  claim  a  partner- 
ship in  the  work  of  the  world  which  is  being  done  in 
North  Europe  and  North  America.  The  citizens  of 
the  smallest  of  those  lands  have  earned  a  right  to  be 


2  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

regarded  as  equals  by  the  citizens  of  the  largest  of 
those  nations.  The  citizens  of  the  small  countries 
are,  in  many  respects,  superior,  intellectually  and  in- 
dustrially, to  the  citizens  of  the  larger  kingdoms. 

How  different  it  is  with  Roman  Catholic  Ireland. 
Our  typical  Roman  Catholic  Irishmen,  our  Gaelic 
League  Irishmen,  our  United  Irish  League  Irishmen, 
our  priest-educated,  priest-led  Irishmen  are  out  of  it 
all.  If  we  Roman  Catholic  Irishmen,  three-fourths  of 
the  population  of  Ireland,  were  settled  in  mid-Africa 
or  South  America,  we  could  not  be  more  completely 
out  of  communion  with  the  white  races  of  North 
Europe  than  we  are.  What,  then,  is  the  universal 
cause  which  produces  this  universal  effect,  as  to  the 
existence  of  which  there  is  such  a  consensus  of  opinion  ? 
Our  Nationalist  orators,  our  sacerdotal  orators,  our 
newspaper  writers  are  never  tired  of  dwelling  upon  it. 
And  I  myself,  a  Roman  Catholic  Irishman  living  in 
the  midst  of  it,  have  painfully  considered,  for  fifteen 
years  at  least,  what  can  be  the  universal  cause  which 
produces  this  universal  effect. 

Various  causes  have  been  assigned  for  our  national 
backwardness  by  our  popular  public  men  and  by  our 
critics. 

For  a  long  time  I  sought  for  the  universal  cause 
of  our  unhappy  condition  in  politics.  Is  politics  the 
universal  cause  ?  Assuredly  not.  For  in  every  one  of 
those  countries  I  have  mentioned  the  citizens  take  a 
keen  interest  in  the  politics  of  their  country;  and  the 
political  histories  of  those  nations  are  all  redolent  of 
strife,  suffering,  and  the  copious  shedding  of  blood. 
The  keenness  of  politics  in  Belgium  does  not  prevent  the 
population  and  the  wealth  of  the  country  from  increas- 
ing ;  nor  have  the  past  sufferings  of  the  little  country 
broken  its  spirit.     The  Scotchman  takes  a  keen  interest 


IS  IT  POLITICS?  3 

in  politics,  and  secures  every  political  reform  which  he 
desires.  So  does  the  Welshman,  and  even  the  Manxman, 
The  English  and  French  peoples  take  an  absorbing  in- 
terest in  politics ;  so  do  the  Germans,  the  Danes,  the 
Scandinavians,  the  Swiss,  and  the  Dutch.  Every  politi- 
cal reform  required  by  those  countries  is  won  by  the 
people.  They  present  their  case  more  rationally  than 
we  Catholic  Irish  do  when  they  require  a  political 
reform.  Their  greater  business  capacity  enables  them 
to  bring  their  political  movements  sooner  to  a  sensible 
and  successful  issue.  But  the  peoples  of  all  those 
countries  have  been  in  the  past,  and  still  are,  prepared 
to  lay  down  their  lives  freely  for  the  maintenance  of 
any  essential  political  principle.  The  Englishman, 
loyal  though  he  be  to  throne  and  constitution,  has  not 
hesitated  to  execute  one  king,  and  to  expel  another 
from  England,  and  exclude  his  progeny  from  the 
throne,  to  achieve  political  reforms  and  ensure  civil 
and  religious  liberty.  The  Englishman  has  more  than 
once  given  way,  and  would  again  give  way,  to  rioting 
of  the  most  violent  character,  in  which  lives  were  lost, 
jails  broken  open,  and  property  of  all  kinds  destroyed, 
in  the  assertion  of  what  the  masses  believed  to  be 
their  political  rights.  And  Englishmen,  as  we  see,  are 
still  prepared  to  die  in  tens  of  thousands  for  the  pro- 
tection of  those  rights.  The  same,  in  varying  degrees, 
may  be  said  of  all  the  other  countries  of  Northern 
Europe.  Therefore  I  come  to  the  conclusion  that  our 
farcical,  petty,  termagant  politics  in  Roman  Catholic 
Ireland,  which  are  so  spiritless  and  puny  compared 
with  the  politics  of  those  other  countries,  cannot  be 
the  universal  cause  which  produces  the  universal  effect 
which  is  deplored  by  every  one  who  loves  the  Catholic 
Irish. 

I  ask  myself,  is  it  criminality,  a  natural  proneness  to 


4  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

vice  and  crime  in  the  Irish  character,  which  produces 
this  universal  effect  ?  I  do  not  beheve  it  is.  There 
is  crime  in  Scotland,  crime  in  England,  crime  in  every 
one  of  those  northern  countries  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent.  In  some  of  the  most  prosperous  of  those  lands 
the  criminality  is  greater  than  it  is  amongst  ourselves 
in  proportion  to  the  population.  In  others  of  them  it 
is  less  than  it  is  with  us.  But  our  criminality,  so  far 
as  it  makes  itself  amenable  to  the  law,  and  can  be 
tabulated  in  statistical  form,  is  not  above  the  average 
criminality  of  any  of  these  countries. 

There  is  a  good  deal  of  criminality  prevalent  in 
Ireland — idleness  and  the  vices  which  spring  from  idle- 
ness— which  can  never  be  tabulated  and  presented  in 
a  statistical  table,  and  in  respect  to  such  crime  Ireland 
may  surpass  most  of  the  countries  of  Northern  Europe ; 
but  that  is  only  an  effect  of  the  universal  cause  we  are 
seeking  for.  There  is  nothing  in  the  accessible  criminal 
statistics  of  Ireland  as  compared  with  Great  Britain,  as 
we  are  so  often  proudly  reminded,  which  can  be  con- 
strued to  our  disadvantage.  Therefore  I  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  actual  criminalitj'^  of  Ireland  is 
not  the  universal  cause  of  Roman  Catholic  Ireland's 
miserable  condition. 

I  next  ask  myself  if  it  is  the  excessive  indulgence 
in  drink  which  produces  this  universal  effect ;  and  I 
cannot  say  truthfully  that  it  is.  Those  patriotic  people 
who  deplore  the  backwardness  of  Roman  Catholic 
Ireland,  who  make  moan  al)out  its  decreasing  popu- 
lation, about  the  decay  of  its  industries,  about  the 
continued  loss  of  character  and  manliness  in  the  popu- 
lation, all  truly  and  proudly  point  out  that  there  is 
more  drink,  per  head  of  the  population,  consumed  in 
Enf'land,  Scotland,  and  Wales  than  there  is  in  Ireland. 
There   is   intoxicating   drink    taken   in   all   the   other 


IS  IT  THE  LAWS?  5 

countries  of  Northern  Europe  also:  Germany,  Scandi- 
navia, Denmark,  Holland,  Switzerland,  Belgium,  and 
Northern  France.  I  do  not  approve  of,  nor  do  I  con- 
done, the  consumption  of  intoxicating  liquor,  when  I 
state  that  I  believe  the  consumption  of  drink  per  head 
in  Ireland  is  not  above  the  average  of  North  Europe 
or  North  America.  But  that  fact  makes  it  evident 
that  indulgence  in  drink  cannot  be  the  first  cause, 
the  universal  cause,  producing  the  universal  effect, 
which  we  deplore  in  Catholic  Ireland.  If  it  were, 
then  the  same  lamentable  effects  would  be  noticeable 
in  every  country  where  the  same  amoiuit  of  drink  is 
consumed. 

Our  popular  leaders,  lay  and  sacerdotal,  inveigh 
against  the  iniquity  of  the  law  as  the  root  of  Irish 
misery.  And  in  that  quarter  I  next  searched  for  the 
cause  of  our  degeneracy ;  but  I  find  that  it  cannot  be 
traced  up  to  the  laws  under  which  Catholic  Ireland 
is  governed.  The  laws  of  the  United  Kingdom  are 
the  freest,  and,  in  some  respects,  the  best  in  the  world. 
They  leave  more  scope  for  individual  initiative  than 
the  laws  of  any  other  European  state.  There  is  tolera- 
tion for  every  creed  and  race  under  the  English  flag. 
There  is  freedom  of  opinion  and  action  for  every  man 
wherever  British  law  is  administered.  The  British  laws 
are  in  force  in  Ireland ;  and  the  same  laws  prevail  in  pros- 
perous Protestant  Ireland  as  in  degenerate  Catholic 
Ireland,  without  an  iota  of  difference.  Nay,  more; 
the  laws  in  force  to-day  in  Catholic  Ireland  are  the 
same  laws  which  are  in  force  in  Middlesex,  Glamoreran- 
shire,  Lancashire,  and  Lanarkshire.  If  a  combination 
of  Londoners,  or  of  Protestant  Irishmen  in  Antrim,  were 
to  proceed  to  put  the  "  plan  of  campaign "  into  opera- 
tion for  preventing  the  exercise  of  his  legal  right  by 
a  common  creditor,  the  laws  would  be  enforced  against 


6  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

them,  and,  in  all  essentials,  they  would  be  put  to  trial 
and  punished  just  as  are  the  tenants  on  the  De  Freyne 
estate.  We  deceive  ourselves  in  Catholic  Ireland  when 
we  think  that  it  is  otherwise.  The  English,  Scotch, 
Welsh,  and  Protestant  Irish  farmers  have  to  pay  rent 
as  well  as  the  Irish  Catholic  farmer.  They  have  to 
give  up  their  farms  to  the  landlord  whenever  they 
cease  to  pay;  and  it  is  an  everyday  occurrence  in 
England  to  find  a  farmer  relinquishing  a  farm  because 
he  cannot  work  it  profitably.  And  there  has  been  no 
beneficial  legislation  for  English  or  Scotch  farmers 
similar  to  the  enactments  passed  since  1870  for  the 
Irish  tenant  farmer.  The  perfect  and  extraordinary 
freedom  enjoyed  under  British  law  cannot  receive  a 
better  exemplification  than  the  flourishing  condition 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  religious  orders  in  Ireland. 
Those  orders,  legally  speaking,  have  no  right  to  citizen- 
ship or  even  existence  in  the  United  Kingdom ;  but, 
notwithstanding,  they  are  allowed  to  accumulate  money 
openly ;  and  even  receive  large  grants  from  the  public 
treasury.  There  is  not  a  law  in  force  in  Ireland  to 
prevent  the  Roman  Catholic  Irish  citizen  from  doing 
everything  which  is  being  done  by  the  English,  Scotch, 
Welsh,  and  Protestant  Irish  citizens  of  the  United 
Kingdom.  If  representation  in  Parliament  be  con- 
sidered a  blessing,  then  the  Irish  citizen  is  better  re- 
presented in  the  House  of  Commons,  so  far  as  numbers 
are  concerned,  than  the  English  or  Scotch  citizen. 
Although  the  population  of  Ireland  is  only  between 
one-ninth  and  one-tenth  of  that  of  the  United  King- 
dom, Ireland  returns  nearly  one-sixth  of  the  represen- 
tatives in  the  House  of  Commons.  Scotland,  with  a 
population  of  4,472,000,  has  only  72  members  of  Par- 
liament, while  Ireland,  though  its  population  is  only 
4,456,546,  possesses  103  members.     Therefore  we  cannot 


IT   IS   THE   PRIEST   IN   POWER  7 

justly  ascribe  the  lamentable  condition  of  Catholic 
Ireland  to  the  injustice  of  our  laws. 

I  next  seriously  fixed  my  thoughts  upon  religion  and 
its  interference  with  secular  affairs.  I  observe  that  in 
all  those  countries  where  a  high  degree  of  prosperity 
exists,  where  manliness  of  character  is  predominant, 
whether  in  North  Europe  or  North  America,  there  is 
one  universal  cause  wanting,  which  is  present  with  us 
in  Catholic  Ireland,  and  that  is  Priestcraft.  I  do  not 
use  the  term  offensively,  but  I  mean  by  it  the  inter- 
ference and  domination  of  the  priest  in  the  social  and 
secular  concerns  of  the  people  by  virtue  of  his  profes- 
sion. Priestcraft  is  not  rife  in  any  of  those  countries. 
And  where  the  religion  professed  in  some  of  those 
countries  is  the  Roman  Catholic  religion,  I  find  that 
the  priest  has  been  deprived  of  all  secular  power,  both 
in  education  and  politics.  The  present  trend  of  events 
in  Roman  Catholic  France  is  notorious ;  in  Paris  chapels 
and  convents  are  "  to  let " ;  commissions  in  the  army 
are,  by  War  Office  regulation,  given  to  students  edu- 
cated at  secular  schools  in  preference  to  those  educated 
at  clerical  schools. 

It  appears  to  me,  then,  that  the  Priest  in  Power 
is  a  universal  cause  omnipresent  in  Roman  Catholic 
Ireland,  but  Avhich  is  wanting  in  all  those  other 
prosperous  countries.  All  the  other  causes  to  which 
our  wretchedness  is  at  various  times  ascribed.  Drink, 
Crime,  Politics,  and  so  forth,  are  present  in  those 
prosperous  countries;  but  Priestcraft  is  notable  by 
its  absence.  In  Catholic  Ireland  those  who  read  this 
book  will  find  that  Priestcraft  is  omnipresent,  all- 
pervading,  all-dominating.  I  am  forced  to  the  con- 
clusion, then,  that  it  is  folly  for  us,  Roman  Catholic 
Irishmen,  to  deceive  ourselves  by  attributing  Catholic 
Ireland's  degeneracy  to  causes  which  are  but  secondary 


8  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

and  are  found  not  incompatible  with  progress  and  pros- 
perity elsewhere.  It  is  sacerdotal  interference  and 
domination  in  Catholic  Ireland,  beginning  in  the  infant 
school  and  ending  with  the  legacy  for  masses  after 
death,  that  will  be  found  to  be  the  true  and  universal 
cause  of  that  universal  degeneracy  upon  which  we  so 
commiserate  ourselves. 

The  potency  of  the  priest  implies  a  radical  weakness 
in  the  national  character  ;  but  it  is  the  priest's  interest 
to  perpetuate  that  weakness  and  to  foster  it  until  it 
becomes  a  national  imbecility.  The  weakness  in  our 
national  character  could  be  rectified,  a  fact  which  is 
proved  by  the  success  of  Catholic  Irishmen  in  good 
company  in  other  lands;  but  its  rectification  is  pre- 
vented by  all  the  concentrated  energies  of  the  Priest 
in  Power.  The  exceptionally  evil  consequences  which, 
for  Irishmen,  flow  from  addiction  to  drink,  addiction 
to  crime,  and  addiction  to  politics,  are  all  traceable  to 
that  intellectual  weakness  and  want  of  moral  strength 
in  our  character  which  are  perpetuated  by  our  subjec- 
tion and  addiction  to  priest.  If  Roman  Catholic  Ireland 
were  to  give  up  addiction  to  drink  and  become  a  nation 
of  teetotallers — a  state  of  things  which  does  not  exist 
in  any  of  the  countries  mentioned,  and  which,  therefore, 
it  would  be  unpractical  to  hope  ever  to  see  established 
in  Ireland ;  if  we  were  to  give  up  our  addiction  to  crime, 
and  if  Catholic  Ireland  were  to  become  a  completely 
crimeless  country,  so  far  as  legal  criminality  is  con- 
cerned— a  state  of  things  which  does  not  exist  in  any 
other  country ;  if  we  were  to  give  up  our  addiction  to 
politics  and  become  a  completely  non-political  country 
— an  equally  unprecedented  state  of  things ;  if  Roman 
Catholic  Ireland  had  the  sustained  moral  strength  to  do 
any  one  of  those  wonderful  things,  the  country  would 
thereby  become  emancipated  from  the  sway  of  the  priests. 


THE  CHILD  AND  THE   MAN  9 

and  immediately  begin  to  advance.  But  none  of  those 
heroic  things  can  be  done.  They  have  not  been  done 
in  other  countries,  even  in  the  greatest  of  them.  It  is 
absurd,  therefore,  to  ask  us  to  rise  at  once  to  such 
heights  of  moral  heroism. 

The  one  practical  thing  which  all  those  other 
countries  have  done,  and  which  we  may  do,  is  what 
we  are  never  invited  to  do  ;  and  that  is  to  give  up  our 
subjection  to  our  priests  in  social  and  secular  affairs. 
That  is  what  the  citizens,  both  Protestant  and  Roman 
Catholic,  of  all  those  other  countries  have  done.  But 
that  is  what  Roman  Catholic  Ireland  has  not  yet  done. 
As  soon  as  we  achieve  our  mental  freedom,  once  we 
assert  our  independence  of  the  priest  in  social  and 
secular  affairs,  then  we,  Roman  Catholic  Irish,  shall 
stand  on  a  footing  of  equality  with  Protestant  Ireland 
and  with  the  rest  of  North  Europe  and  North  America. 
When  we  Roman  Catholic  Irishmen  have  won  a  share 
in  all  the  administrative,  social,  religious,  educational, 
charitable,  and  Church  work  connected  with  Christianity 
in  our  own  country,  then  we  shall  have  started  on  the 
road  which  has  led  to  success  for  all  other  countries 
who  have  travelled  it,  and  we  shall  have  removed  the 
universal  cause  which  has  produced  our  national  de- 
generacy. 

It  is  the  adult  man  who  has  to  wrestle  with  Drink, 
Crime,  and  Politics — but  it  is  the  infant  who  is  over- 
whelmed by  mental  subservience  to  the  priest.  When 
the  character  of  the  growing  youth  is  softened  and 
vitiated,  he  falls  an  easy  prey  to  drink,  crime,  and 
politics  when  he  becomes  an  adult.  And  our  common 
country,  the  aggregation  of  those  adults,  becomes  the 
wreck  that  we  deplore.  We  cannot  improve  our  nation 
while  we  allow  our  youth  to  be  brought  up  in  weakness 
and  mystification.     Enervated  and   perplexed  in  their 


lo  PRIESTS   AND  PEOPLE 

youtla,  under  the  influence  of  dominant  sacerdotalism, 
our  adult  men  have  been  trying  for  generations  to 
cure  by  legislation — or  agitation  for  legislation — the 
evil  and  inherent  consequences  of  their  breeding ;  but 
our  careworn,  agitating  adults,  in  their  turn,  hand  their 
children  over  to  our  priests  to  be  brought  up  in  similar 
mystification  and  misguidance  ! 

Our  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  Ireland  is,  fiscally, 
a  voluntary  Church  ;  yet  we,  the  laity,  are  but  stocks 
and  stones  in  its  constitution.  We  are  not  living 
members.  We  accept,  with  dumb  discontent,  an 
arrangement  which  excludes  us  from  all  voice  in  its 
executive  business.  We  have  allowed  the  education  of 
our  children  to  become  a  branch  of  theological  adminis- 
tration. Nay,  there  is  some  ground  for  apprehending 
that  our  Government,  deceived  by  our  silence,  may 
create  a  new  statutory  university,  endowed  with  public 
money,  in  which  the  status  of  our  priests,  as  infallible 
dictators  in  secular  education,  may  receive  legal  recog- 
nition. 

That  is  the  problem  of  problems  in  Ireland  to-day. 
But,  before  grappling  with  it,  let  us  move  about  through 
the  country,  north,  south,  east,  and  west,  and  endeavour 
to  realise  the  relations  subsisting  between  the  priests 
and  the  people. 


CHAPTER    II 

PRIESTS  AND    PEOPLE    IN    LOUTH    AND    ARMAGH 

It  has  often  struck  me  that  the  county  of  Louth  is 
the  most  "  northern  "  of  the  CathoUc  counties,  not  from 
a  geographical  point  of  view,  but  in  the  characteristics 
of  its  people.  Donegal  is,  geographically,  the  most 
northern ;  but  it  is  really  "  southern  "  in  the  character 
of  its  poor  inhabitants.  Louth  contains  the  two  im- 
portant towns  of  Drogheda  and  Dundalk.  Drogheda, 
which  is  in  touch  with  Dublin,  contains  a  population 
of  12,760,  having  decreased  by  948  since  1891.  Duu- 
dalk  is  in  touch  with  Belfast  and  the  North,  and 
contains  a  population  of  13,076,  having  increased  by 
627  since  the  census  of  1891.  There  are  several  im- 
portant factories  in  Dundalk — a  railway  factory ;  an 
iron  foundry ;  tobacco  factory  ;  distillery  and  breweries. 
There  arc  also  factories  in  Drogheda,  which  is  a  town 
with  a  history,  while  Dundalk  has  none.  But  the 
spirit  of  Drogheda  is  as  much  southern  as  northern, 
and  the  town  is  not  as  prosperous  as  Dundalk.  The 
county  of  Louth  contains  60,171  Catholics  as  against 
5669  members  of  the  Reformed  Churches,  and  is, 
therefore,  more  than  nine-tenths  Catholic.  The  area 
of  the  county  is  smaller  than  that  of  any  other  Irish 
county,  being  only  202,731  statute  acres;  and  the 
population,  which  in  1891  stood  at  71,914,  has  decreased 
to  65,820  in  1901.  Louth  contains  a  high  percentage 
of  illiterates,  namely,  23.7  per  cent.,  or  nearly  a  fourth 
of  the  population.    But  the  inhabitants  are  industrious  ; 


12  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

and  there  are  few  better  farmers  found  in  Ireland  than 
those  of  Louth.  The  number  of  people  in  receipt  of 
poor  law  relief  in  1901,  as  inmates  of  workhouses  and 
outdoor,  was  i  in  30  of  the  population. 

Emigration  is  on  the  wane;  the  total  number  who 
emigrated  during  the  decade  1891  to  1901  being  2803, 
or  280  per  annum,  as  contrasted  with  6954,  or  695  per 
annum,  from  1881  to  1891.  The  county  is  in  the 
arch  -  diocese  of  Armagh,  and,  therefore,  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  Cardinal  Logue,  who  rules  over  an 
important  and  powerful  ecclesiastical  establishment 
in  this  small  area.  There  are  85  priests  stationed 
in  Louth,  21  monks  and  yj  male  Catholic  teachers. 
There  are  167  nuns  and  139  female  Catholic  teachers. 
There  is  an  Industrial  school  at  Dundalk,  in  which 
there  are  61  Catholic  girls  under  the  care  of  the 
Sisters  of  Mercy ;  and  there  is  another  at  Drogheda, 
under  the  care  of  the  French  Sisters  of  Charity,  in 
which  there  are  10 1  Catholic  boys,  supposed  to  be 
destitute  vagrants,  who  have  to  be  reared  by  the  nuns 
at  the  expense  of  the  State.  The  amount  of  public 
money  drawn  by  the  nuns  for  those  two  schools 
amounts  to  ^^3479  per  annum.  Totting  up  these 
figures,  we  find  that  the  clerical  army  and  followers 
in  the  small  county  of  Louth  number  750  souls,  male 
and  female,  over  whom  the  priestly  organisation  is 
the  absolute  autocrat  and  master. 

I  find  that  the  Imperial  and  Local  Government 
establishments  in  Louth  consist  of  79  Civil  Service 
officers  and  clerks;  162  police;  47  municipal,  parish, 
union,  and  district  officers ;  29  other  local  and  county 
officials;  33  female  Civil  Service  officers,  and  25  female 
municipal  officers;  total,  375,  or  barely  one -half 
of  the  Catholic  clerical  establishment.  The  military 
army  stationed  in  Louth  amounts  to  23  officers,  etiec- 


THE  KING'S  ARMY  AND  THE  CARDINAL'S    13 

tive  and  retired ;  447  soldiers  and  non-commissioned 
officers ;  3  militiamen ;  and  34  army  pensioners ; 
total,  507.  Loutli  is  considered  in  Ireland  to  be  a 
very  strongly  garrisoned  county,  but  we  find  that  the 
soldiers  of  the  King  within  its  borders  only  amount 
to  two-thirds  of  the  army  under  the  command  of 
Cardinal  Logue.  The  number  of  professional  men  in 
Louth  is  higher  than  in  other  Catholic  counties. 
There  are  21  solicitors  and  barristers,  27  doctors,  29 
civil  engineers,  and  1 2  architects  ;  total,  89,  or  about 
one-ninth  of  the  clerical  standing  army.  It  is  worthy 
of  notice  that  while  there  are  167  nuns,  there  are 
only  16  mid  wives  to  attend  to  the  8453  wives  in  the 
county  of  Louth. 

Out  of  the  entire  population  of  the  county,  namely, 
65,820  persons,  only  five  people  were  discovered  who 
spoke  Irish  exclusively  in  1891  ;  and  in  1901  there 
was  not  a  single  person  in  the  county  returned  as 
speaking  Irish  only.  In  1891,  those  who  were  able 
to  speak  a  little  Irish,  using  English  as  the  principal 
language,  were  returned  as  2671 ;  and  we  are  informed 
that  in  1 90 1  the  number  of  such  persons  have  increased 
to  3201.  The  importance  of  these  figures  is  fictitious, 
for  the  600  additional  people  so  returned  are  youngsters 
learning  the  Irish  numerals  at  the  National  Schools 
under  the  priests'  control.  The  smattering  of  Irish 
they  will  acquire  is  destined  to  be  of  no  use  to  them ; 
but,  on  the  contrary,  it  will  take  up  some  of  their 
brief  school  time,  which,  if  the  schools  were  under  good 
management,  might  be  spent  in  obtaining  knowledge 
of  a  useful  character.  There  are  5482  Catholic  children 
attending  the  priest-managed  National  Schools,  2996 
boys,  and  2486  girls.  The  future  of  those  5482  children 
is  entirely  in  the  priests'  hands ;  for,  though  their 
education  is  paid  for  by  the  State,  it  is  the  priests  who 


14  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

control  the  teachers,  whom  they  can  dismiss,  if  they 
do  not  please  them,  at  three  months'  notice. 

There  are  five  Monastic  and  Convent  National  Schools 
in  the  county,  at  which  728  boys  and  19 10  girls  receive 
an  education.  These  schools  are  conducted  by  teachers 
who  have  not  passed  the  National  Board's  examination, 
and  who  are  only  partially  under  the  control  of  the 
Board;  but  who,  nevertheless,  receive  a  substantial 
Government  grant.  They  are,  if  such  a  thing  were 
possible,  more  completely  under  the  control  of  Cardinal 
Logue  than  the  ordinary  National  Schools,  and  the 
2638  children  who  are  educated  in  them  are  sent  forth 
into  the  world,  well  primed  with  mental  subservience  to 
the  priests ;  and,  to  that  extent,  unfitted  to  compete 
with  the  Protestant  youth  whom  they  will  have  to 
meet  in  the  open  competition  of  the  world.  The 
Christian  Brothers  have  three  schools  in  the  county, 
which  do  not  receive  a  national  grant,  and  which  are 
attended  by  858  pupils,  who  receive  at  the  hands  of 
the  Brothers  an  education  of  which  religion — that  is, 
subservience  to  the  priestly  organisation — is  the  prime 
essential.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  161  vagrant 
children  who  are  educated  in  the  Industrial  Schools 
are  also  turned  out  of  those  institutions  as  the  obedient 
servants  of  the  priest. 

The  Protestants  have  two  superior  male  schools  in 
the  county,  at  which  6^  pupils  receive  a  superior 
education  ;  and  the  Catholics  have  one  superior  male 
school,  attended  by  93  Catholic  boys.  The  Protestants 
number  less  than  one-tenth  of  the  population,  and, 
therefore,  if  6'j  youths  be  the  proper  proportion  of 
Protestants  to  receive  a  superior  education  in  Louth, 
there  should  be,  at  least,  600  Catholic  boys  receiving 
a  superior  education  in  the  county,  whereas  there  are 
only  93.     Those  93  Catholic  boys  are  under  the  control 


LOUTH  NUNS   AND  LOUTH   GIRLS        15 

of  the  Marist  Fathers  at  Dundalk,  and  -will,  doubtless,  be 
turned  out  of  that  sacerdotal  school  saturated  with  all 
the  puzzling  materialism  of  our  religion,  as  it  is  applied 
to  secular  life ;  and  a  large  percentage  of  them  will 
become  priests.  There  are  two  convents  in  the  county 
which  are  described  as  giving  "  superior  "  education,  at 
which  there  are  139  girls,  only  23  being  boarders,  the 
rest  being  day  pupils.  As  I  do  not  consider  the  educa- 
tion of  these  convents  to  deserve  the  name  of  "  superior," 
it  is  not  worth  discussing  the  proportion  which  the 
number  bears  to  the  population  of  the  county.  It 
is  to  be  noted  that  the  number  of  pupils  attending 
them,  139,  is  only  four-fifths  of  the  total  number  of 
nuns  in  the  county ;  and,  as  these  Convent  Schools  are 
mostly  used  as  feeders  for  the  religious  communities, 
we  may  take  it  that  a  large  percentage  of  the  girls 
attending  them  will  join  the  Orders  of  Nuns  who 
manage  those  schools.^  The  Religious  Orders  stationed 
in  Louth  are  the  Franciscans,  Augustinians,  and  Do- 
minicans, at  Drogheda ;  the  Dominicans,  Marists,  and 
Redemptorists  at  Dundalk ;  the  Christian  Brothers  at 
Drogheda,  Dundalk,  and  Ardee;  Dominican  Nuns  at 
Drogheda;  Sisters  of  Mercy  at  Dundalk  and  Ardee, 
and  Sisters  of  Charity  at  Drogheda. 

In  the  centre  of  Louth,  midway  between  Drogheda 
and  Dundalk,  in  the  backward  district  of  Dromin,  the 
Rev.  Doctor  Mannix,  a  theological  professor  from 
Maynooth,  attends  at  the  dedication  of  a  new  church 
early  in  1902.-  "Explain  it  as  we  may,"  he  says,  "it 
is  the  fact  that  Catholics  have  often  much  to  learn 
from  their  non-Catholic  neighbours  in  industry,  and 
thrift,  and  energy,  and  enterprise.  There  is  something 
amiss  when  profitable,  and  honest,  and  honourable 
employments    and    departments   of   industry   are    left 

^  "  Census  of  Ireland,"  1901.  -  Freeman  s  Jourval. 


i6  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

almost  wholly  in  the  hands  of  non- Catholics.  There  is 
something  wrong  with  the  education,  and  habits,  and 
traditions  of  Irish  Catholics  when  they  can  be  beaten  in 
their  own  ground,  when  they  can  be  forced  to  emigrate, 
whUe  non-Catholics  can  remain,  and  live,  and  prosper 
in  the  midst  of  Catholic  communities."  It  is  well  to 
have  such  a  confession  from  Maynooth ;  and  times  are 
changing  indeed,  when  such  an  admission  is  made  by  a 
priest.  But  priests  have  a  habit  of  decking  themselves  in 
borrowed  plumes,  a  knack  of  re-echoing  the  words  of 
those  who  are  anxious  to  help  the  people,  while  they  are 
by  no  means  imbued  with  a  desire  to  act  upon  those 
borrowed  sentiments.  Let  me  remind  Dr.  Mannix  that 
he  came  from  Maynooth  to  Dromin  to  dedicate  a  new 
church,  and  that  all  over  Ireland  the  dedication  and 
foundation  of  new  churches  and  new  convents  are  pro- 
ceeding apace.  Vast  sums  of  money  are  being  taken 
from  the  Catholic  people  to  put  up  those  buildings,  and 
to  maintaiQ  the  priests  and  nuns  who  occupy  them. 
The  churches  and  the  convents,  the  fat  priesthood  and 
the  teeming  nunneries  are  the  tangible  results  of 
Catholic  Emancipation  for  Ireland  so  far.  There  is 
nothing  in  the  law  at  present  to  prevent  a  body  of 
Catholics  in  the  Dromin  district  from  coming  together 
and  starting  a  local  industry,  any  more  than  there  is  to 
prevent  them  from  building  their  new  church.  Dr. 
Mannix  says :  "  The  stagnation,  and  decay,  and  hope- 
lessness that  have  settled  on  Catholic  Ireland  are,  no 
doubt,  largely  due  to  centuries  of  misgovernment  and 
enslavement."  Who  are  the  enslavers  ?  Who  keep 
the  Irish  Catholic  mind  in  subjection  ?  Who  denounce 
a  "free  mind"  and  "free  thought"  as  if  they  were 
diseases?  But,  putting  that  aside,  there  has  been 
nothing  in  the  law  for  the  past  seventy  years  to  pre- 
vent  lay    Catholics   from    pursuing   every    branch    of 


Lawrence. 


The  New  Cathedral  and  "Ara  Cceli"  at  Armagh 


"  We  find,  in  this  very  diocese,  that  Cardinal  Logue  is  al)le  to  collect  over  ^30,000  for  the 
interior  decoration  of  his  cathedral  "  (p.  17). 

"  The  total  receipts  of  the  bazaar  were  ^^33,380,  i6s.  lod.,  i-c."  (p.  35). 


DR.   MANNIX,   PHILOSOPHER  \^ 

industry,  and  holding  all  descriptions  of  property. 
Why  then  are  they  stagnant,  while  the  priest  is  ab- 
normally active  ?  It  cannot  be  lack  of  capital ;  for 
;^6o,ooo  can  be  readily  subscribed  for  a  new  church 
anywhere  in  Ireland.  We  find,  in  this  very  diocese, 
that  Cardinal  Logue  is  able  to  collect  over  ;!^30,ooo  at 
a  single  bazaar  for  the  interior  decoration  of  his 
cathedral.  What  then  prevents  the  lay  Catholics 
from  advancing  themselves  in  the  world  while  the 
priests  flourish  so  amazingly  ?  Why  is  there  "  stag- 
nation, and  decay,  and  hopelessness"  to  puzzle  the 
inquiring  mind  of  Dr.  Mannix  ?  Is  it  not  because  of 
the  upbringing  of  the  lay  Catholics,  because  of  the 
timidity  and  want  of  self-help  implanted  in  their 
minds  ?  Is  it  not  the  result  of  that  upbringing  that 
they  are  prepared  to  expend  millions  of  money  in 
building  churches,  and  convents,  and  endowing  priests 
and  nuns,  and  thus  leave  themselves  without  a  ten- 
pound  note  to  start  a  fresh  industry  ?  Must  not  the 
"  stagnation,  decay,  and  hopelessness,"  the  "  something 
amiss  with  the  education,  habits,  and  traditions  of  Irish 
Catholics,"  be  laid  at  the  door  of  the  priests  from  whom 
the  Irish  Catholics  receive  their  education  ?  Cardinal 
Logue,  as  we  shall  see,  comes  to  Bessbrook  to  found  an 
expensive  convent  for  which  there  is  no  necessity.  All 
the  factories  and  business  of  Bessbrook  are  the  work  of 
Protestant  brains  and  hands.  The  Protestants  have  no 
Cardinal  Logue  to  mystify  and  interfere  with  them. 
If  there  were  a  Protestant  Cardinal  Logue  perambu- 
lating about  the  country,  making  his  disturbing  and 
mystifying  speeches ;  and  if  the  Protestants  maintained 
their  Cardinal  Logue  and  his  big  army  of  priests, 
monks,  and  nuns  in  riches,  and  expended  all  their 
available  capital  in  beautifying  his  churches,  and  glori- 
fying himself;  and  if,  in  addition,  they  were  supporting 

B 


1 8  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

an  Italian  priesthood ;  we  should  find  the  Protestants 
in  as  stagnant  a  condition  as  the  Catholics  are.  And 
a  Protestant  Dr.  Mannix  from  a  Protestant  Maynooth 
would  be  moving  about  asking  the  winds  to  tell  him 
the  cause  of  Protestant  stagnation.  We  Catholics 
must  remove  the  cause  of  this  "  stagnation,  decay,  and 
hopelessness"  in  ourselves.  Nobody  can  do  it  for  us, 
least  of  all  the  priests,  who  only  know  how  to  idle,  to 
beg,  to  posture,  and  to  talk.  We  must  have  the  courage 
to  confine  the  priests  to  their  religious  business,  and 
win  from  our  sacerdotal  masters  the  same  freedom  of 
mental  development  in  youth,  and  civic  action  in  man- 
hood, as  the  lay  Protestants  possess.  If  the  mind  does 
not  work  freely  and  straightly,  the  entire  life  is  warped. 
It  is  in  the  school  that  the  mind  receives  its  bent ;  and 
for  the  past  half-century  the  priest  has  been  in  the 
school,  making,  or  rather  marring,  the  mind  of  the 
nation.  Hence  it  is  that  the  nation  is  "  stagnant, 
decaying,  and  hopeless."  Let  an  Irishman  be  ever  so 
industrious,  let  him  amass  a  respectable  sum  of  money, 
the  priest  will  come  to  him  on  his  deathbed,  and  take 
that  money,  entirely  or  partially,  from  his  natural  heirs 
and  inheritors,  and  remove  that  money  from  useful 
circulation  in  industrial  pursuits,  and  apply  it  to  the 
purposes  of  sacerdotalism.  In  every  country  of  Europe 
where  the  Catholic  religion  is  the  dominant  one,  pro- 
gress has  always  been  made  in  despite  of  the  priest ;  for 
the  priest,  when  allowed  free  play,  submerged  the  laity. 
The  priest  can  claim  no  share  in  the  prosperity  of  any 
European  Catholic  land.  There  was  a  time  in  conti- 
nental Catholic  lands  when  the  priest  controlled  the 
education  of  the  youth,  and  handled  large  sums  of 
State  money  for  that  purpose.  But  the  Catholic 
governments  of  those  countries  took  the  education  out  of 
the  priests'  hands ;  and  the  countries  progressed  as  soon 


POLITE  TO  THE   POPE  19 

as  that  was  done.  When  that  has  been  done  in  Catholic 
Ireland,  Dr.  Mannix's  prophecy  may  come  true: 
"  The  day  will  come,  when,  without  parting  one  jot  or 
tittle  of  her  faith,  without  losing  any  of  her  Catholic 
traditions,  without  relinquishing  her  high  spiritual 
ideals,  Ireland  may  be  able  to  hold  up  her  head  amongst 
the  nations."  But  Dr.  Mannix  is  egregiously  wrong  in 
adding  that  the  "  priests  and  people  of  other  Catholic 
lands  have  done "  what  they  have  done  "  with  the 
encouragement  and  blessing  of  the  Holy  Father." 
That  is  not  so.  The  Catholics  in  other  lands  who  are 
progressive  have  not  had  their  progress  encouraged  or 
blessed  by  the  Holy  Father.  They  are  in  a  condition  of 
revolt  against  his  authority,  and  they  resent  his  inter- 
ference in  anything  which  concerns  their  secular  affairs. 
The  Papacy  no  longer  possesses  power:  it  exists  by 
sufferance,  and  has  come  to  be  looked  upon  with  forget- 
ful kindliness  by  the  governments  of  those  nations  who 
have  completely  emancipated  themselves  from  its  sway. 
Irish  Catholics  are  misled  into  believing  that  Protes- 
tant nations,  when  they  treat  the  Pope  politely  and 
kindly,  agree  with  him,  or  are  prepared  to  accept  his 
authority.  Even  continental  Catholic  nations  will  not 
accept  command  or  guidance  from  him.  Catholic 
Ireland  alone,  garrisoned  with  new  churches,  convents, 
monasteries,  reformatories,  and  industrial  schools — the 
home  of  sacerdotalism — still  looks  up  to  the  Pope  as  if 
he  were  the  possessor  of  power.  Since  the  dethrone- 
ment of  the  Pope  in  1870,  and  the  emancipation  of 
Italy,  British  people  no  longer  fear  the  Pope.  They  see 
us,  his  followers  in  the  British  Empire,  an  impotent 
minority  numbering,  at  our  own  liberal  calculation, 
ten  out  of  three  hundred  millions.  The  Englishman, 
with  his  characteristic  kindness  towards  minorities,  and 
toleration  of  every  religious  profession,  is  kind  to  the 


20  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

Roman  Catholics  and  polite  to  the  Pope.  But,  despite 
the  disappearance  of  all  overt  danger  from  Papal 
inspiration  in  England,  there  is  still  a  very  real  danger, 
and  evil  consequences  flowing  from  it,  in  Catholic 
Ireland.  The  United  Kingdom  suffers  to  some  extent 
thereby,  but  we,  Irish  lay  Catholics,  suffer  much  more. 
Our  people  are  kept  in  a  state  of  continual  unrest  and 
discontent.  Their  thoughts  are  fixed  upon  church 
building,  convent  building,  useless  religious  observ- 
ances, and  their  energies  are  wasted  in  the  expenditure 
of  money  for  sacerdotal  purposes.  The  mind  of  the 
child  is  enslaved  in  the  priest-managed,  state-subsi- 
dised school.  Therefore  it  comes  to  pass  that  the 
kindliness  which  the  fair-minded  English  people  extend 
to  the  Catholic  minority  of  the  United  Kingdom  is 
misplaced  and  actually  injurious  to  us,  whenever  it 
takes  the  shape  of  pecuniary  endowment  for  the  priest- 
hood or  vests  public  patronage  in  the  priests'  hands. 

Travellers  from  Dublin  to  Belfast  cannot  fail  to  ob- 
serve what  I  shall  call  the  Meigh  (Mike)  district  on  the 
borders  of  North  Louth  and  Armagh,  and  partly  in  both 
counties.  It  is  situated  in  the  hilly  country,  north  of 
Dundalk,  and  culminates  in  the  wedge-shaped  and 
mountainous  Carlingford  peninsula.  It  is  inhabited 
almost  entirely  by  Catholics,  and  the  holdings  are  as 
small  in  many  cases  as  the  holdings  on  the  De  Freyne 
or  the  Dillon  estates  in  Mayo.  It  is  a  pleasant,  high- 
land country,  consisting  of  hills  and  dales  amongst  the 
mountains,  and  has  long  been  a  fruitful  subject  of  cogi- 
tation with  me,  every  time  I  pass  through  it  on  my  way 
north,  or  on  my  return  journey  southward.  Dull  indeed 
should  be  the  traveller  who  could  fail  to  be  struck  by 
its  peculiarities.  There  is  a  Catholic  chapel  in  the 
midst  of  this  district,  though  there  is  no  town  within 
its  borders.     The  houses  of  the  peasantry  are  situated 


AMONGST  THE  HILLS  21 

on  the  slopes  of  the  hills,  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains, 
and  along  the  valleys,  as  thick  almost  as  monuments  in 
a  cemetery.  The  little  whitewashed  homesteads,  and 
the  little  farm-buildings  around  them,  are,  in  many 
instances,  scrupulously  clean  and  well  kept.  In  many 
other  cases  they  are  ruinous  and  badly  kept.  But  there 
is  a  spirit  of  helpfulness  and  energy  in  the  little  settle- 
ment which  is  entirely  absent  from  what  are  called  the 
congested  districts  in  Mayo.  If  this  locality  were 
situated  in  the  west  it  would  be  a  congested  district, 
and  fat  officials  would  draw  large  salaries  for  coming 
down  to  inspect  it,  and  to  deliver  lectures  and  write 
voluminous  reports  upon  it.  But,  being  on  the  borders 
of  the  north,  and  at  the  English  side  of  the  island,  the 
inhabitants,  though  Roman  Catholic,  retain  sufficient 
self-respect  to  be  self-supporting.  I  have  often  wondered 
how  such  a  number  of  people  managed  to  live  on  such 
small  holdings,  and  in  such  hilly  ground.  Their  little 
fields  on  the  mountain  sides  are  kept  by  sheer  labour 
from  relapsing  into  the  region  of  heath  and  furze,  but 
there  is  no  particular  brightness  shown  in  their  cultiva- 
tion. I  have  never  seen  any  public  advertisement  of 
distress  in  this  district ;  nor  has  it,  to  my  knowledge, 
ever  come  before  the  public  looking  for  alms  or  pity. 
The  North  Louth  peasants  are  permeated  with  the 
spirit  of  self-help  which  animates  their  Protestant 
neighbours  in  the  county  Down  and  the  county  Armagh, 
just  as  are  the  inhabitants  of  the  whole  county  of  Louth. 
I  have  inquired  from  people  who  know  the  district 
intimately  as  to  how  this  thickly  populated  region 
manages  to  exist,  and  I  have  been  informed  that  there 
is  a  yearly  migration  from  the  Meigh  district  to  Eng- 
land, just  as  there  is  from  the  Mayo  district  to  England, 
but  on  a  much  smaller  scale.  The  Meigh  peasants, 
when  they  get  to  England,  do  not  all  become  harvesters 


22  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

or  temporary  farm  labourers,  like  the  west  of  Ireland 
peasantry.  Marvellous  to  relate,  most  of  them  follow 
the  occupation  of  pedlars  in  England.  They  travel 
about  the  English  rural  districts  with  packs  of  miscel- 
laneous merchandise  on  their  backs,  just  as  the  young 
Jews  do  in  the  district  around  Dublin.  When  they  get 
to  England  they  buy  their  little  stocks  of  commodities 
at  the  cheapest  possible  rate.  They  remain  absent  on 
this  work  for  about  half  the  year,  and  then  they  return 
to  their  homesteads  with  whatever  money  they  have 
made.  The  number  who  migrated  from  Louth  and 
Armagh  to  Great  Britain  in  1901  was  419;  115  land- 
holders, and  304  non-landholders  ;  and  we  may  take  it 
that  this  represents  the  migration  from  the  Meigh 
district.  I  have  often  been  struck  in  harvest  time  at 
seeing  mere  children  cutting  corn  in  the  little  fields ; 
some  of  the  boys  so  young  that  a  farmer  in  the  south 
of  Ireland  would  be  afraid  to  entrust  them  with  the  use 
of  a  scythe,  and  the  girls  who  followed  the  youthful 
mowers  so  small  that  they  should  have  been  at  school. 
A  gentleman  who  lives  in  the  locality  informed  me  one 
day  that  the  fathers  and  elder  brothers  of  some  children 
at  whom  we  were  looking  were,  at  that  time,  in  England, 
to  his  knowledge,  with  packs  on  their  backs.  This 
industry  of  the  Meigh  peasant,  his  annual  departure 
from  and  return  to  his  barren,  ungenerous  home,  are 
characteristic  of  Catholic  Ireland.  Many  of  them  must 
ultimately  find  a  home  in  England ;  but  the  population 
continues  to  be  as  thick  as  ever,  in  proportion  to  the 
general  population  of  the  country.  I  can  imagine  that, 
prior  to  the  famine,  when  Ireland  contained  a  popula- 
tion of  over  8,000,000,  the  entire  face  of  the  country 
must  have  presented  some  such  spectacle  as  that  wit- 
nessed to-day  in  the  Meigh  district.  If  genuine  self- 
originated,  self-supporting  industries  were  started  on  a 


SELLING  THE  BRIDECAKE  23 

considerable  scale  in  Catholic  Ireland,  with  which 
charitable  and  religious  communities  should  have 
nothing  to  do,  a  copious  supply  of  labourers  could  be 
drawn  from  the  Meigh  district.  If  the  Meigh  people 
got  facilities  for  self-development  and  self-improvement 
in  their  own  land,  they  would  develop  into  a  race  of 
which  any  country  might  well  be  proud.  Like  all  the 
rest  of  Catholic  Ireland,  at  present,  the  district  is  in  a 
kind  of  suspended  animation.  Up  there  in  the  hills, 
with  the  Protestant  north  on  one  side  of  it  beyond 
Carlmgford  Lough,  and  the  Catholic  country  with  its 
large  tenantless  pasture  plains,  like  Spanish  despoblados 
on  the  other  side,  Meigh  occupies  a  Tantalus-like  posi- 
tion. If  it  were  in  England,  the  people  would  be  sure 
to  start  some  genuine  home  industry  by  which  they 
would  attain  to  comfort  and  wealth  on  their  own  soil; 
but  in  Ireland  there  is  nothing  for  this  Catholic  popu- 
lation but  the  mysteries  and  stupefaction  of  religion  for 
one  half  of  the  year,  and  annual  migration  as  pedlars  to 
England  for  the  other. 

A  servant  girl  from  one  of  the  towns,  not  in  the  Meigrh 
district,  got  married  recently.  Previous  to  marriage, 
she  went  home  to  her  parents,  and,  on  the  eve  of 
the  wedding,  the  neighbours  brought  presents  to  the 
bride.  Instead  of  being  of  a  useful  nature,  the  gifts 
consisted  of  quarts  of  whisky ;  or  a  pint  of  whisky  and 
a  pint  of  wine.  After  the  marriage  the  wedding  party 
assembled  at  dejeiXner,  and  the  priest  who  performed 
the  ceremony  honoured  them  by  his  presence.  He  sat 
at  the  head  of  the  table,  and  filled  out  "  tumblerfuls " 
of  wine,  which  he  handed  to  the  females  present,  each 
of  whom  approached  the  priest  and  made  a  curtsey 
as  she  took  her  tumbler  of  liquor  from  his  hands.  To 
the  men  who  were  present  the  priest  handed  "  cups 
and  tumblerfuls  "  of  whisky.     After  the  company  had 


24  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

imbibed  freely,  the  priest  arose  and  went  round  with 
the  bridecake,  which  he  sold  in  pieces  to  the  men  and 
women  present.  Each  one  paid  him  for  his  or  her 
slice,  taking  the  piece  of  cake  and  dropping  the  money 
on  the  plate  instead  of  it.  When  the  priest  had  gone 
the  entire  round  of  the  company,  he  took  the  proceeds 
from  the  plate  and  put  them  in  his  pocket,  and  he 
shortly  afterwards  took  his  departure  from  the  house. 
This  habit  of  "selling  the  bridecake"  by  the  priest  is 
very  prevalent  at  weddings  of  poor  Catholics  throughout 
the  north  of  Ireland.  It  is  a  degrading  habit  to  the 
priest,  and  even  more  degrading  to  the  company;  for 
when  the  priest,  to  whom  they  look  up  so  much,  can 
stoop  to  such  ignominy,  what  can  be  expected  from  the 
poor  people  who  follow  his  example  ?  In  addition  to 
the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  the  bridecake,  which,  at 
this  servant  girl's  wedding,  I  am  told  by  an  eye-witness, 
amounted  to  over  £c^,  the  priest  also  received  a  fee 
from  the  bride  and  bridegroom.  Thus  all  the  kindness 
of  the  young  couple's  friends  in  this  instance  went 
to  the  support  of  the  priest  and  the  publican  and 
the  drink  manufacturer ;  and  the  married  pair  did  not 
receive  a  single  useful  present  either  in  cash  or  kind  to 
help  them  to  start  in  life. 

I  regret  to  record  an  equally  odious  custom,  pre- 
valent in  the  north  of  Ireland,  namely,  collections  on 
the  dead  bodies  of  poor  Catholics.  I  am  happy  to 
say  they  are  not  made  in  the  portion  of  the  south 
of  Ireland  to  which  I  belong.  The  custom  is  as 
follows :  If  the  priest  comes  to  the  funeral,  a  collection 
is  made  up  for  him  before  the  dead  body  leaves  the 
house  for  the  cemetery.  In  some  instances  this  is  done 
in  a  particularly  repulsive  way.  The  cotiin  is  laid  on 
chairs  outside  the  door,  and  a  large  dish  or  plate  is 
placed  upon  it,  and  all  those  present  come  forward  and 


COLLECTING  ON   THE  COFFIN  25 

place  their  oli'erings  in  the  plate.  In  one  instance  north 
of  this  densely  populated  district  which  I  am  describing 
a  widow  offered  the  priests  of  the  parish  a  lump  sum  of 
;^5  if  they  would  consent  not  to  have  such  a  collection. 
The  priests  refused  the  offer  ;  for  not  alone  would  the 
collection  amount  to  more  money,  but  they  said  they 
could  not  set  the  precedent  of  breaking  through  an 
old-established  and  lucrative  custom.  When  the  dead 
body  is  brought  to  a  church,  the  collection  for  the 
priest  is  made  by  himself  at  the  altar  rails.  In  the 
south  of  Ireland,  if  the  friends  of  the  deceased  cannot 
pay,  the  priests  absent  themselves  from  the  funeral  ; 
and  the  poor  people  are  always  buried  without  any 
service,  and  without  the  attendance  of  a  clergyman.  I 
have  often  felt  that  it  was  disrespectful  to  the  remains 
of  a  human  being,  belonging  to  a  Christian  community, 
to  be  thus  interred  without  a  service.  But  now  I  think 
the  omission  is  preferable  to  such  loathsome  money- 
grubbing  over  the  bodies  of  the  dead,  as  that  which 
prevails  in  the  North  amongst  our  fellow-Catholics. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  towns  in  the  United 
Kingdom  is  situated  a  little  to  the  north  of  this 
Meigh  district.  Indeed,  it  is  the  nearest  town  to  the 
district  on  the  north.  Bessbrook  contains  a  population 
of  3400,  yet  it  does  not  contain  a  single  public-house. 
It  is  a  Protestant  town,  and  it  is  full  of  industry, 
content,  and  happiness.  Into  this  town  come  Cardinal 
Logue  and  Bishop  O'Neill,  on  the  loth  April  1902,  for 
the  purpose  of  founding  a  new  convent  ^  to  be  worked 
by  Sisters  of  Mercy.  It  is  to  cost  a  large  sum  of  money, 
and  the  plausible  pretext  upon  which  it  is  founded 
is  thus  put  by  Cardinal  Logue  :  "  Let  us  educate  our 
young  children  ;  let  us  make  them  intelligent ;  let  us 
make   them   capable   to   labour  for   their   subsistence, 

^  Freeman's  Journal. 


26  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

and  in  an  intelligent  way  give  them  a  thorough,  good, 
practical  education.  I  think  that  in  that  way  we  could 
do  more  to  make  them  contented,  and  keep  them  in 
their  own  country,  than  trying  to  give  them  charity,  to 
raise  little  sums  of  money  to  help  them  in  any  little 
difficulty  they  might  have.  I  think  no  money  is  more 
usefully  spent  or  contributes  more  practically  to  the 
beneticial  welfare  of  the  people  than  money  spent  on 
education."  Nobody  contests  these  sonorous  principles, 
but  they  do  not  apply  to  the  business  which  Cardinal 
Logue  has  in  hand.  A  stranger  would  obviously  be 
led  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  the  education  of  the 
Catholic  children  of  Bessbrook  which  was  alone  to 
be  advanced  by  the  convent.  That  is  not  the  case. 
Those  children  can  get  a  free  National  School,  with 
a  fully  qualitied  teacher  paid  by  the  State,  without  any 
cost  to  themselves.  In  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  Schools, 
the  teachers  will  be  religious  ladies  who  have  no 
special  qualitications  for  teaching,  having  passed  no 
examination.  Therefore,  it  is  not  true  to  imply  that 
it  is  purely  in  the  interests  of  education  that  this 
convent  is  started  in  Bessbrook.  Again,  a  stranger 
reading  that  statement  of  Cardinal  Logue's  would 
imagine  that  Cardinal  Logue  and  his  colleagues  were 
in  the  habit  of  giving,  or  that  they  contemplated  lending, 
little  sums  of  money  in  charity  from  their  enormous 
wealth,  to  help  the  poor  Catholic  people  in  the  vicinity. 
Such  an  inference  is  misleading.  Ask  the  Meigh  pedlars 
if  the  priests  have  been  accustomed  at  any  stage  of  their 
existence  to  help  them  in  that  way.  You  will  find  that 
it  is  the  Meigh  peasant-pedlar  who  gives  the  money  to 
the  priests  instead  of  receiving  it ;  and  as  the  priests 
have  no  intention  now  of  either  giving,  or  lending, 
or  collecting  money  for  our  poor  people,  the  statement 
is   out  of  place.     Those  Sisters   of  Mercy   will  bo  an 


NUNS  FOR  BESSBROOK  27 

additional  burden  on  the  poor  Catholic  community  in 
the  district.  Cardinal  Logue  says :  "  Considering  the 
start  this  work  has  got,  and  judging  by  what  I  know 
of  the  generosity  of  the  people  of  the  parish,  they  will 
give  it  a  good  lift.  In  the  tirst  place,  you  have  a  good 
example  set  to  you.  You  have  the  example  of  Mr. 
M'Keown,  who  has  given  this  tine  farm  to  the  nuns, 
and  who  has  not  only  given  it,  but  is  looking  after 
it  for  them.  You  have  another  parishioner,  Mr. 
M'Parland,  who  has  already  given  a  very  large  con- 
tribution towards  the  buildings  of  the  convent  .  .  . 
which  will  enable  the  nuns  to  go  on  for  sovie  time  at 
any  rate  without  catling  on  the  'public."  Thus  the 
function  will  result  in  a  permanent  new  imposition 
upon  the  poor  Catholics ;  and,  as  if  in  sarcastic  con- 
tempt of  their  poor  auditors.  Cardinal  Logue  and  Bishop 
O'Neill,  while  they  are  imposing  this  fresh  burden  upon 
their  backs,  plausibly  state  that  it  is  a  better  way  to 
"  make  them  contented  and  keep  them  in  their  own 
country "  than  if  they  "  raised  little  sums  of  money 
to  help  them  "  in  their  difficulties  !  The  assertion  is 
daring.  The  convent  will  not  keep  a  single  peasant 
froui  migration,  but  it  will  be  an  additional  claimant 
for  a  share  of  his  earnings.  The  people  have  already 
good  education  free  in  the  National  Schools ;  and,  if 
Cardinal  Logue  or  Bishop  O'Neill  desired  to  start  a 
new  National  School  of  a  sectarian  character,  they  could 
have  done  so  by  applying  to  their  friends  on  the 
Board  of  Education  in  Dublin.  In  the  usual  sequence 
of  events  it  would  not  at  all  surprise  me  to  find  those 
Sisters  of  Mercy  scouring  the  country  in  search  of 
vagrant  children,  and  starting  a  profitable  "  Industrial " 
School  in  which  to  keep  them,  at  a  pension  of  £2^ 
or  £2/^  per  head,  as  a  means  of  increasing  their  slender 
resources  at  the  cost  of  the  taxpayers.     It  is  mendi- 


28  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

cancy,  not  self-help,  that  will  be  fostered  in  Bessbrook 
by  this  convent.  It  is  misdirection  and  stultification, 
and  not  education  which  will  emanate  from  it. 

It  will  be  found  to  have  been  a  bad  day  for  Bessbrook 
when  that  convent  was  established  in  its  midst;  and 
those  who  participated  in  it  will  be  proved,  as  in  so 
many  other  districts  of  Ireland,  to  have  been  engaged 
in  a  bad  work,  and  not  a  good  one.  A  good,  honestly 
conducted  National  School,  under  a  respectable  lay 
teacher,  involving  no  burden  on  the  poor  people,  would 
give  far  better  education  to  the  Catholic  children  of  the 
locality,  and  leave  their  spirit  of  self-help  unbroken. 

Cardinal  Logue  stated  that  he  had  "  ascertained  from 
Mr.  M'Keown  "  that  the  spot  marked  out  for  the  new 
convent  had  been  an  old  graveyard,  and  he  adds : 
"  Wherever  you  find  in  Ireland  a  cemetery  that  was 
attached  to  an  ancient  monastery,  you  may  be  sure  that 
there  you  have  the  relics  of  saints,  so  that  this  hill  is 
sanctified  by  its  holy  traditions."  I  doubt  it ;  even  on 
the  authority  of  Mr.  M'Keown.  I  believe  that  wherever 
an  ancient  monastery  was  situated  you  have  the  relics 
of  idlers,  and  numbers  of  idlers,  whose  lives  are  black 
spots  upon  the  pages  of  our  unfortunate  country's 
history.  And  it  would  be  as  hard  to  find  a  saint's 
bones  there  as  to  find  a  saint  amongst  the  twentieth- 
century  people  who  are  met  there  to  found  this  con- 
vent. When  Cardinal  Logue  was  in  Rome,  he  tells 
us  "  they " — doubtless,  the  Roman  Mr.  M'Keowns — 
•'  brought  him  into  the  sacristy  of  the  Church  of  St. 
Paul  to  see  the  chamber  of  relics,  and  he  was  deeply 
impressed  to  find  amongst  those  relics  the  skull  of  St. 
Celestine.  It  had  a  deep  interest  for  Cardinal  Logue, 
as  an  Irishman,  and  especially  as  the  unworthy  successor 
of  the  great  apostle  whom  St.  Celestine  sent  to  preach 
the   faith."      It  is   fourteen  hundred  years  ago   since 


LIVING  ON  ST.   PATRICK  29 

St.  Patrick  died.  Can  Cardinal  Logue  point  to  one 
admirable  or  noteworthy  deed — except,  perhaps,  the 
transient  enthusiasm  of  Father  Mathew — worthy  of 
imitation  done  by  an  Irish  priest  since  Patrick's  death  ? 
We  know  little  of  St.  Patrick  for  certain,  except  that 
Cardinal  Logue  and  his  predecessors  have  been  trading 
on  his  name ;  and,  on  the  strength  of  his  achievements, 
have  been  leading  idle  lives  for  centuries.  Granted 
that  St.  Patrick  was  a  good  man,  that  is  no  reason  why 
an  Irish  bishop  should  extract  money  from  the  poor 
laity  of  his  diocese  for  useless  objects,  and  keep  them 
back  in  life.  None  of  our  bishops  deserve  thanks  for  the 
deeds  of  Patrick.  They  must  be  judged  by  their  own 
conduct.  Stephenson  was  a  great  engineer,  so  was 
Watt ;  but  no  engineer  of  the  present  day  can  afford  to 
live  idle  by  preaching  the  glories  or  by  treasuring  up 
the  relics  of  those  famous  men.  That  would  not  be  the 
way  to  advance  the  science  of  locomotive  engineering. 

The  less  our  priests  preach  about  St.  Patrick  and 
Pope  Celestine,  the  greater  will  be  their  wisdom. 

They  have  more  pressing  duties  to  perform  in  the 
world.  If  St.  Patrick  had  rested  content  with  belauding 
and  trading  upon  some  man  who  lived  before  himself, 
and  if,  under  Patrick's  influence.  Christian  Ireland  had 
sunk  to  the  bottom  of  the  scale  of  nations  while  Patrick 
went  on  building,  and  begging,  and  living  in  the  indo- 
lence of  riches,  Patrick's  name  would  be  but  a  byword, 
a  memory  to  be  despised  and  forgotten.  I  believe  that 
if  Patrick  lived  to-day,  he  would  raise  up  the  peasants 
of  Ireland;  he  would  not  keep  them  down  as  our 
priests  do.  Each  man  in  his  day  must  do  his  own 
work.  And,  it  is  not  because  one  man  plays  his  part 
well  in  his  time,  that  successive  generations  of  men  are 
to  stand  idly  prating  about  what  that  man  did,  and 
amassing  money  on  the  strength  of  it. 


30  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

Cardinal  Logue's  Christianity  is  out  of  date.  It  is 
time  the  voice  of  Christ  Himself,  or  a  new  Patrick,  rang 
out  in  the  valleys  of  Meigh. 

The  important  town  of  Newry,  the  gap  of  the 
north,  the  capital  of  the  Meigh  and  several  other 
districts,  contains  a  majority  of  Catholics.  It  is  on 
the  boundary  line  of  Armagh  and  Down ;  and  the 
southern  portion  of  the  county  Down  lying  to  the  east 
of  it  is  also,  to  a  considerable  extent,  a  Catholic  district. 
Bishop  O'Neill  of  Dromore  lives  in  Newry,  and  has  a 
new  cathedral  in  the  town;j  and  I  find  that,  though 
Newry  is  most  advantageously  situated  for  commerce, 
being  at  the  head  of  Carlingford  Lough,  and  in  direct 
communication  with  England,  via  Greenore,  its  popula- 
tion and  its  prosperity  are  on  the  decline.  Twenty 
years  ago,  at  the  census  of  1881,  Newry  had  a  popula- 
tion of  nearly  16,000.  To-day  its  population  has 
decreased  to  12,500.  But,  if  it  has  lost  in  this  respect, 
Newry  can  boast  of  its  bishop,  palace,  cathedral; 
priest-managed  diocesan  seminary ;  Convent  of  the 
Sacred  Heart ;  Convent  of  the  Poor  Clares ;  Orphan- 
age of  Our  Mother  of  Mercy  ;  and  a  Dominican  Priory ; 
and  of  two  Convents  of  Mercy  in  beautiful  Warrenpoint 
and  romantic  Rostrevor,  close  beside  it.  It  cannot 
serve  God  and  itself,  while  it  serves  the  sacerdotal 
Mammon.  North  of  Newry,  and  still  in  the  county  of 
Armagh,  is  the  Protestant  town  of  Portadown,  situated 
on  the  upper  Bann,  which  has  neither  a  bishop,  nor  a 
cathedral,  nor  any  other  obtrusive  evidence  of  sacer- 
dotal dominion,  except  a  parish  priest  and  two  curates, 
and  a  Presentation  Convent  with  twelve  nuns,  all  of 
whom  have  to  be  on  very  good  behaviour  externally. 
Protestant  Portadown  has  been  going  ahead  steadily, 
having  increased  its  population  from  7850  in  1881  to 
8430  in  1891,  and    10,500   in    1901.      Newry,   besides 


THE  LURGAN  CONVENT  31 

being  full  of  priests  and  nuns,  is  endowed  with  the 
questionable  blessing  of  a  Nationalist  Member  of 
Parliament,  who,  like  his  colleagues,  must  be  regarded 
as  a  priests'  man.  Its  registered  Local  Government 
electors  number  only  2386.  Portadown  has  no  Member 
of  Parliament,  although  its  electors  number  2690. 
Farther  north  still,  and  only  a  short  distance  from  Porta- 
down, and  still  in  the  county  of  Armagh,  is  the  pros- 
perous Protestant  town  of  Lurgan,  with  an  increasing 
population  of  1 1,777,  with  no  Member  of  Parliament,  no 
cathedral,  no  bishop;  but  having  a  parish  priest  and 
three  curates,  and  endowed  with  a  Convent  of  Mercy, 
to  which  the  Government  has  handed  over  a  grant 
of  public  money  for  technical  instruction,  to  the  indig- 
nation of  the  inhabitants  of  Lurgan.  The  nuns  had 
already  managed  to  find  forty-five  vagrant  little  girls 
to  put  into  their  "  Industrial  School,"  and  thereby  endow 
themselves  with  ;^730  of  public  money  yearly.  They 
now  have  two  Government  endowments.  The  pa3^ment 
to  those  inexperienced,  terrified  ladies  in  the  Lurgan 
Convent  of  Mercy,  of  taxpayers'  money  for  imparting 
technical  instruction  to  the  children  of  Lurgan,  is  as 
preposterous  an  act  of  folly  as  one  could  imagine. 
Father  Finlay,  the  Jesuit  member  of  the  Board,  follows 
the  endowment,  and  delivers  a  lecture  in  the  town  upon 
industry.  What  daring  sarcasm  !  Lurgan,  full  of  self- 
help,  vigour,  and  progress,  containing  a  Protestant 
population  who  have  done  everything  needful  for  them- 
selves, containing  a  "  stagnant,  decaying,  and  hopeless  " 
minority  of  Catholics,  as  Dr.  Mannix  would  say,  is  not 
served  by  that  act  of  the  British  Government.  A 
Jesuit  would  be  but  a  drone  in  the  Lurgan  hive  to  be 
expelled.  The  most  "  stagnant,  decaying,  and  hopeless," 
though  well-meaning,  section  of  the  Catholic  population 
of  Lurgan  are  not  the  proper  people  to  give  lessons  in 


32  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

handicraft  and   self-help   to   the  children  of  Liirgan ! 
The   Irish    nuns   cannot    call    their   souls   their   own. 
They  exist  on  sufferance  under  the  authority  of  their 
bishops.     Their  poor  minds  are  full  of  fears  and  doubts 
and  tremulousness.     Hell  yawns  open  under  them  at 
every  step  they  take.      Their   accounts,   receipts,   and 
disbursements  are  under  the  supervision  of  the  bishops. 
They   are   the   last   people  in   the   world   to   whom   a 
sane  administrator  would  intrust  public  money  for  the 
purpose  of  infusing  manliness,  self-help,  and  technical 
education  into  the  youth  of  such  a  town  as  Lurgan,     It 
may  be  inferred  from  this  case  why  governmental  bene- 
volence is  unproductive  in  Ireland.     Indefensible  as  the 
endowment  of  this   convent  in   Lurgan   may   be,   the 
similar  endowment   of  scores  of  convents  throughout 
the  rest  of  Ireland  is   even   more  pernicious ;    for   in 
Lurgan  there  is  a  Protestant  community  to  elevate  the 
standard  of  the  Catholics.     But,  in  the  south  and  west, 
where  convents  abound,  there   is   no  Protestant  com- 
munity to  act  as  a  stimulus  and  elevating  force ;  and, 
as   we   shall   see  in   Westport,    the   parish   priest  will 
simply  order  the  District  Council  "  to  hand  the  money 
to  the  Reverend  Mother."     The  endowment  of  Lurgan 
convent  is  as  preposterous  as  if  a  convent  in  Newcastle- 
on-Tyne  were  to  receive  a  public  grant  for  giving  tech- 
nical instruction  to  young  miners  how  to  excavate  coal, 
or  to  young  quay-labourers  as  to  loading  it  on  ships,  or 
to  the  children  of  the  factory  hands  at  Messrs.  Armstrong, 
Mitchell,' &  Co.'s   great   manufactory  as  how  to  make 
armour.      When  the  Technical  Instruction  money  can 
be  thus  perverted  to  priests'  uses  in  the  North,  and  in 
the  face  of  Protestant  criticism,  readers  may  understand 
the  extent  to  which  it   is   so  perverted  in  the  South, 
where   there   is  no  Protestant  criticism  to   be  feared. 
Things  were,  as  I  thought,  at  their  worst  when  our  help- 


THE  TWO   CATHEDRALS  33 

less  nuns  were  in  a  position  to  receive  from  ;^20  to  £24. 
per  head  for  vagrant  children,  whose  support  in  the 
workhouses  does  not  cost  more  than  ;^8  or  £g.  But  to 
endow  them  for  teaching  art  and  craft  is  to  misapply 
the  public  funds  in  the  grossest  way  possible.  A 
"vocation"  is  the  only  qualification  necessary  for  a 
nun ;  and  that  means,  in  Lurgan,  implicit  faith  that  the 
Bishop  of  Dromore  and  his  priests  can  do  no  wrong. 
Such  qualification  niay  not  unfit  ladies  to  rear  vagrant 
children  at  a  remuneration  treble  the  cost  of  their 
support  in  the  Union  Workhouse ;  but  such  ladies  are 
the  last  persons  in  the  community  who  should  receive 
Government  money  for  giving  technical  instruction. 

Let  us  now  visit  the  picturesque  and  primatial  city 
of  Armagh,  where  Cardinal  Logue  resides  as  the 
Roman  Catholic  successor  of  8t.  Patrick,  and  where 
our  enormously  expensive  cathedral  has  recently  been 
built.  We  find  industry  and  commerce  in  a  state  of 
decay;  and  the  population  fallen  from  10,070  in 
1 88 1  to  7438  in  1 89 1.  Primate  Alexander  of  the 
Church  of  Ireland  resides  in  Armagh.  The  Pro- 
testant cathedral  is  an  ancient  foundation,  and 
the  Protestants  of  Armagh  have  not  been  put  to 
any  expense  in  connection  with  it.  It  is  the  most 
picturesque  building  in  Armagh ;  it  contains  some 
exquisite  pieces  of  sculpture,  executed  by  famous 
European  sculptors ;  and  its  ornamentation  and  in- 
terior furnishing  were  carried  out  at  the  personal  cost, 
for  the  most  part,  of  the  late  Primate  Beresford.  I 
had  just  walked  across  the  town  from  Cardinal  Logue's 
ncAv  and  showy  cathedral ;  for  Armagh  nestles  in  a 
valley  between  the  two  cathedrals.  The  Catholic 
cathedral  is  ostentatious  and  flaring ;  its  twin  toAvers 
pointing  up  like  horns  into  the  sky.  It  is  not  artistic, 
nor  is  it  well  placed.     From  any  point  you  look  at  it, 

c 


34  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

it  appears  to  be  out  of  plumb,  and  Cardinal  Logue's 
residence  standing  beside  it,  which  he  calls  "  Ara  Coeli," 
or  the  "  Altar  of  Heaven  " — a  name  which  grates  upon 
one's  ears — seems  altogether  out  of  the  vertical.  If  it  be 
an  altar  of  Heaven,  it  would  appear  to  be  all  awry, 
and  not  straight.  The  interior  of  our  Roman  Catholic 
cathedral,  on  the  day  I  visited  it,  more  resembled  the 
interior  of  a  stable,  or  outhouse,  than  a  place  of  worship. 
It  was  dirty  and  neglected ;  and  I  emerged  from  it  in 
disgust,  and  walked  across  the  primatial  town,  through 
its  winding  streets,  and  up  and  down  its  steep  hills, 
until  I  reached  the  Protestant  cathedral  on  the  top 
of  the  opposite  hill.  The  quiet,  unostentatious,  in- 
expensive exterior  of  the  Protestant  cathedral  was  a 
relief  to  the  eye  after  the  two  springbok-horn  towers 
of  our  monstrous  Catholic  building.  The  interior  of 
the  Protestant  cathedral  was  orderly,  clean,  comfort- 
able, and  unpretentious.  The  statuary  within  it  con- 
sisted of  monuments  of  eminent  men,  connected  in 
some  way  with  the  cathedral  or  the  locality,  and  they 
were  the  best  of  their  kind.  If  Cardinal  Logue  had 
expressly  wished  to  dissociate  himself  from  everything 
becoming  in  the  Protestant  cathedral — 

"  The  decent  church  that  toi^ped  the  neighbouring  hill " — 

he  could  not  have  succeeded  more  entirely  than  he 
has  done.  Armagh  was  at  one  time  a  very  important 
place.  It  is  now  a  place  of  little  importance  from  a 
commercial  point  of  view,  but  it  will  always  remain 
an  interesting  and  historic  locality.  Though  its  trade 
is  on  the  wane,  it  is  an  imposing  country  town,  or  city, 
as  the  inhabitants  prefer  to  call  it.  There  are  signs  of 
grandeur,  evidences  of  design  and  of  taste,  both  in 
its  location  and  in  its  surroundings.  The  Mall  is  a 
picturesque  place,  and  the  Protestant  bishop's  palace 


RELIGION  AND   MONEY  35 

is  a  fine  house,  well  situated.  Evidences  of  the  personal 
benefactions  of  the  Protestant  primates  are  to  bo  seen 
in  the  buildings  and  market-places  of  the  town,  in 
the  astronomical  observatory  and  public  library. 

Cardinal  Logue  organised  a  bazaar  on  behalf  of  his 
cathedral  in  July  1900,  and  "the  total  receipts  were 
^33.380,  1 6s.  lod."  The  expenses,  of  which  the  largest 
item  was  ^658  "paid  to  priests  doing  temporary  duty 
for  the  collectors,"  came  to  ^^3353,  19s.  iid.  And  the 
"net  proceeds  ;^30,026,  i6s.  iid.,"  were  handed  over 
to  Cardinal  Logue.  Father  Byrne,  P.P.,  V.G.,  auditor, 
condescends  to  inform  the  public  that  he  has 
"  carefully  gone  through  the  accounts  and  compared 
vouchers  with  expenses  and  found  everything  per- 
fectly correct."  ^  One  would  like  to  follow  the  net 
proceeds,  ^30,026,  i6s.  iid.,  and  learn  how  they  were 
expended. 

There  are  56,707  Roman  Catholics  in  the  county ;  the 
Reformed  Churches  being  in  the  majority,  and  number- 
ing 68,531,  of  whom  40,853  are  Episcopalians;  20,029 
Presbyterians;  5066  Methodists;  and  all  others  2583. 
The  Vincentians  have  a  monastery  and  seminary  at 
Armagh,  and  the  Nuns  of  the  Sacred  Heart  have 
a  convent  there,  in  which  there  are  36  nuns.  Besides 
the  convents  in  Lursfan  and  Portadown,  there  is  a 
Convent  of  Poor  Clares  at  Keady ;  and  of  St.  Louis 
at  Middletown,  which  has  an  "Industrial"  School,  in 
which  are  collected  50  vagrant  little  girls,  for  whom 
the  nuns  draw  ^^898,  is.  6d.  of  taxpayers'  money  yearly. 

Let  us  now  move  westward  to  another  territory  where 
North  blends  Avith  South. 

^  Freeman,  June  3,  1901. 


CHAPTER   III 

THE    FERMANAGH    BORDERLAND    AND    MONAGHAN 

"  And  if  the  Lord  allows  me,  I  surely  will  return 
To  my  native  Belashanny  and  the  winding  banks  of  Erne  ! " 

— William  Allingham. 

The  county  of  Fermanagh  is  a  borderland  between 
Catholic  and  Protestant  Ireland;  and,  in  1901,  out  ot 
its  total  population  of  65,243,  there  were  29,177  mem- 
bers of  the  Reformed  Churches ;  the  balance,  36,066, 
being  Roman  Catholics.  It  is  remarkable  for  the 
picturesque  series  of  lakes  into  which  the  river  Erne 
expands  in  its  passage  through  the  county.  Of  the 
superficial  area  of  Fermanagh  one  statute  acre  out  of 
nine  is  under  water.  In  fact,  the  county  consists  ot 
the  river  Erne  and  the  lakes,  and  the  riparian  territory 
attached  to  them  ;  and  the  Fermanagh  people  naturally 
take  a  pride  in  the  Erne  and  its  lakes  which  intluence 
their  daily  lives  to  such  an  extent.  Enniskillen,  the 
chief  town,  is  a  buoyant,  prosperous  place,  and  it  too 
contains  a  mixed  religious  population  in  about  the 
same  proportions  as  the  county.  When  in  Fermanagh 
recently  I  was  deeply  impressed  by  many  things  which 
I  saw.  Amongst  other  things,  I  paid  a  visit  to  one  who 
has  been  a  remarkable  man  in  the  county  for  the  past 
fifty  years,  Mr.  J.  G.  V.  Porter,  of  Belleisle,  an  island  in 
the  upper  lake,  which  is  connected  with  the  mainland 
by  a  handsome  bridge ;  and  there  Mr.  Porter  lived  in 
old  seigniorial  style.     The  nearest  village,  Lisbellaw,  is 

mainly  his  property.     It  is  nicely  placed,  and  clusters 

36 


LAND  LOUGHS  AND  DAMPNESS    37 

round  the  Episcopalian  church  which  tops  the  hill. 
Its  houses  are  built  of  good  stone  and  slate-roofed, 
and  there  are  no  ruined  cabins  to  be  seen  in  it. 
Neither  is  there  a  convent  or  monastery,  or  even  a 
parochial  house,  or  anything  savouring  of  the  Priest 
in  Power,  except  the  bare,  unadorned  chapel  on  the 
hillside.  There  is  a  thriving  woollen  industry  in 
Lisbellaw,  the  factory  having  been  originally  built  by 
Mr.  Porter ;  but  it  is  being  now  worked  on  its  own 
merits  by  a  firm  who  took  it  over  from  him,  and  who 
have  greatly  enlarged  it.  One  Sunday  when  in  Fer- 
managh I  attended  mass  at  the  Lisbellaw  chapel.  I 
drove  from  Belleisle,  where  I  had  stayed  on  the 
previous  night,  in  Mr.  Porter's  pony  carriage,  drawn 
by  two  remarkable  snow-white  Shetland  ponies — as 
uncommon  a  turn-out  as  one  could  desire.  The  little 
white  ponies  were  as  fat  as,  and  not  unlike,  large  pigs ; 
and,  as  they  galloped  along  the  road,  they  kept  playing 
with  each  other,  whispering  into  each  other's  ears,  and 
pinching  one  another  in  a  friendly  way.  On  the  road 
we  passed  some  groups  of  men,  some  going  to  mass, 
others  to  service  in  the  church  —  tall,  well-dressed, 
healthy,  manly  -  looking  people.  The  land  around 
Lough  'Erne  being  of  a  heavy  description,  which 
retains  the  moisture,  the  country  is  dotted  with  what 
are  called  land  loughs — that  is  to  say,  isolated  lakes 
unconnected  with  the  river  Erne.  Those  land  loughs 
make  the  country  cold  and  damp  in  winter;  and  it 
would  be  hard,  indeed,  to  look  upon  a  more  uninviting- 
country-side  than  the  scenery  of  the  county  Fermanagh 
in  November.  The  rainfall  is  high,  and  dampness  is 
to  be  seen  everywhere,  owing  to  the  want  of  natural 
drainage.  I  could  not  help  contrasting  the  natural 
advantages  possessed  by  the  inhabitants  of  Cork, 
Limerick,   Tipperary,   or   any   of    the    great    southern 


38  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

counties,  with  the  difficulties  under  which  Fermanagh 
people  live.  In  the  south  of  Ireland,  the  country  is 
open;  there  are  great  highways  affording  splendid 
facilities  for  locomotion ;  and  the  view  is  always  an 
extended  one.  This  width  of  prospect  is  found  to 
exercise  a  distracting  influence  upon  the  inhabitants. 
The  eye  can  see  so  far  away  over  hill  and  dale,  over 
wood  and  pasture,  that  one  is  tempted  to  roam,  and 
men  are  prevented  from  concentrating  their  energy 
upon  their  own  farms.  For  instance,  about  twenty- 
five  years  ago  my  father  took  a  large  farm  and  allowed 
the  previous  tenant  to  occupy  the  dwelling-house  for 
six  months,  in  the  hope  that  his  friends  might  assist 
him  to  take  advantage  of  his  equity  of  redemption. 
He  was  an  able-bodied  young  man,  and  he  spent  almost 
every  day  of  the  six  months  from  March  to  September 
stretched  or  seated  on  a  grassy  rock  near  the  house, 
looking  at  the  splendid  prospect  of  well-tilled  open 
country  which  lay  spread  out  before  him,  smoking  as 
he  basked  in  the  sun,  and  he  often  described  the 
country  to  me  as  if  it  were  a  map  lying  in  front  of 
us.  Meanwhile  my  father's  men  were  working  on  his 
fields  close  beside  him,  in  the  effort  to  succeed  where 
he  had  failed;  but  the  sight  instead  of  rousing  him 
only  stupefied  him. 

In  Fermanagh  there  are  no  wide  prospects  from  every 
field,  no  great  roads  stretching  away  into  the  distance, 
and  apparently  leading  from  one  end  of  Ireland  to  the 
other.  The  lakes  wind  in  and  out  about  the  county, 
and  the  road  has  to  wind  in  various  ways  to  avoid 
them,  the  surface  of  the  country  being  broken  up  into  a 
series  of  knolls.  Such  a  state  of  nature  is  pre-eminently 
calculated  to  inspire  industry  and  competition  amongst 
neighbours.  This  is  also  the  kind  of  country  to  be 
found  in  Monaghan,  an  adjacent  county,  which  I  shall 


WEIGHTY  FARMERS  AND  BURDENS   39 

have  something  to  say  about  in  this  chapter.  The  hold- 
ings in  Fermanagh  are  small ;  three,  four,  five,  or  ten 
acres  being  considered  a  fair-sized  holding.  Twenty- 
acres  is  considered  a  large  farm,  and  the  possessor  is 
considered  a  "  weighty  "  farmer.  In  the  course  of  my 
drives  through  the  county  I  saw  many  farms  held  by 
Scotchmen  residing  in  Scotland,  who  send  over  some 
members  of  their  families  to  live  on  these  Fermanagh 
farms.  A  great  many  shopkeepers  hold  farms ;  and 
many  of  the  farmers  have  outlying  holdings  to  an  even 
greater  extent  than  in  the  south  of  Ireland.  In  Fer- 
managh such  farms  are  called  "  burdens,"  or  side-farms. 
And  a  Fermanagh  peasant  will  say  to  you,  "  Oh,  that's 
a  weighty  farmer ;  he  has  two  burdens  forby  his  own 
farm."  I  could  not  help  contrasting  the  scarcity  of 
straw  with  the  abundance  of  it  in  Cork.  The  result  is 
that  the  houses  of  the  peasantry  are  badly  thatched. 
Some  of  the  labourers'  dwellings  are  as  bad  as  houses 
in  the  congested  districts  of  Mayo  and  Roscommon. 
Dwelling-houses  for  labourers  are  scarce,  and  two 
families  will  often  be  found  occupying  a  small  cottage  on 
the  roadside,  one  using  the  fi-ont  door  and  the  other  the 
back  door.  The  people  are  sturdy  and  self-supporting, 
well-dressed,  healthy-looking,  and  altogether  present- 
able. But  at  some  of  the  cross-roads  I  saw  crowds  of 
healthy  boys  and  men,  in  their  Sunday  clothes,  and 
with  shining  morning  faces,  looking  out  at  me  through 
the  low  doors  and  small  windows  of  cottages  which  one 
would  consider  to  be  in  bad  repair  if  they  were  cow- 
houses. The  green  grime  on  the  roof  and  walls  made  an 
antipathetic  setting  for  plump,  fresh  faces  of  well-clad 
young  people.  In  Mayo  I  remarked  idle,  well-dressed 
girls  and  young  men  in  bad  houses  along  the  roadsides 
on  a  working-day.  It  was  not  so  in  Fermanagh,  for, 
though  the  people  were  well  dressed  on  Sunday,  every 


40  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

one  was  at  work  in  the  yards  or  in  the  fields  on  week- 
days. 

Many  of  the  things  which  I  saw  in  the  chapel  at 
Lisbellaw  gave  me  food  for  reflection.  There  is  no 
attempt  at  decoration,  or  even  care  displayed  for  the 
bit  of  ground  in  which  it  stands ;  and  this  is  a  prefer- 
able state  of  affairs  to  the  unseemly  ostentation  of  the 
churches  and  priests'  houses  in  the  poor  western  coun- 
ties. Within  the  chapel  the  people,  clad  in  their  rough 
frieze  clothes,  were  huddled  together  anyhow.  No 
raggedness,  no  bare-footedness,  no  misery  was  visible. 
There  was,  however,  that  absence  of  independence  and 
dignity  which  I  notice  amongst  the  congregations  of 
all  our  churches,  from  Marlborough  Street  to  Letter- 
kenny.  One  could  not  call  the  Lisbellaw  Catholics  a 
gathering  of  individuals.  They  were  like  a  herd  of  sheep 
in  the  corner  of  a  field,  waiting  till  it  should  please  the 
shepherd  and  his  dog  to  disperse  them.  They  were 
healthy  people  at  close  quarters,  except  for  this  absence 
of  individuality,  which  made  even  an  ordinary  person 
like  me,  coming  from  an  ordinary  place  like  Dublin, 
feel  out  of  touch  with  them.  I  noticed  that  one  of  the 
open  benches  in  the  body  of  the  church  had  a  red'cushion 
on  the  seat,  and  another  cushion  on  the  kneeling-stool. 
It  was  not  the  first  bench  next  to  the  altar-rails,  but  was 
in  the  second  or  thhd  row.  It  struck  me  as  peculiar, 
and  I  avoided  it.  When  I  had  been  seated  for  some 
time,  an  elderly  and  a  young  lady,  in  sealskin  jackets, 
appeared,  and  took  possession  of  this  cushioned  seat. 
Our  priests  profess  to  be  no  respecters  of  persons  or 
wealth,  but  the  truth  is,  that  the  greatest  school  for 
snobbishness  and  class  distinction  in  the  world  is  our 
Roman  Catholic  Church.  It  is  always  ready  to  grovel 
before  the  possessors  of  money,  and  to  place  freely  at 
then-  disposal  not  only  a  soft  seat  and  kneeling-stool  in 


MASS  AT  LISBELLAW  41 

tlie  midst  of  bare  discomfort,  in  return  for  their  money, 
but  also  the  sacramental  treasures  of  the  Church. 
Nowhere  else  are  rich  people — especially  the  young — 
so  spoiled  and  flattered  as  they  are  by  our  priests  and 
nuns.  Our  "  Church  "  often  boasts  that  it  is  the  Church 
of  the  poor,  but  it  only  deserves  that  title  in  the  sense 
that  it  keeps  the  bulk  of  its  members  in  poverty.  I 
learned  afterwards  that  this  seat  was  occupied  by  a 
Catholic  lady,  the  possessor  of  property,  who  married 
a  member  of  the  Reformed  Church,  and  that  her  hus- 
band was  bound,  under  conditions  in  the  marriage 
settlement,  to  attend  his  wife's  place  of  worship  a  cer- 
tain number  of  times  each  year. 

Here,  then,  were  those  two  ladies  in  sealskin  jackets 
in  this  cushioned  seat,  and  the  other  denizens  of  the 
chapel,  herded  as  far  as  possible  from  the  altar,  without 
individuality ;  and  here  I  was  myself,  feeling  estranged 
from  everything  around  me,  as  if  I  were  in  a  foreign 
land.  A  third  feature  was  now  added  to  the  scene 
within  the  chapel.  A  man  in  a  topcoat  and  mud- 
bespattered  boots  and  trousers,  his  hair  tossed,  and  a 
large  black  muHier  wound  around  his  neck,  came  out 
suddenly  upon  the  altar  through  the  sacristy  door.  It 
was  the  priest.  He  looked  around  the  chapel,  and  his 
eyes  alighted  upon  myself  He  went  up  to  the  taber- 
nacle in  a  hurried,  irreverent  way,  opened  the  door,  did 
something  or  other  with  his  hands  inside,  and  went  oft" 
through  the  sacristy  door  again.  Next  appeared  a  boy, 
wearing  a  Norfolk  jacket  and  knickerbockers  of  light 
brown  Lisbellaw  frieze,  to  hght  the  altar-candles.  His 
nailed  boots  clattered  on  the  bare  altar-boards  like  the 
hoofs  of  a  horse  on  the  road  outside.  The  chapel  bell 
was  resounding  like  a  cracked  pot,  the  creaking  of  the 
cham  by  which  it  was  pulled  making  more  noise  than 
the  bell  itself     Mass  then  commenced,  and  a  poorer 


42  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

and  less  edifying  service  it  would  be  hard  to  see.  The 
incoherent  mumbling  of  the  priest  in  Latin,  as  he  raced 
through  the  phrases,  without  dignity  or  reverence,  was 
broken  occasionally  by  the  tramping  about  the  altar  of 
the  boy  in  the  frieze  clothes  and  heavy  boots,  and  by 
the  tinkling  of  the  bell.  It  lasted  a  little  over  twenty 
minutes ;  there  was  no  sermon ;  and,  all  through  the 
mass,  the  chapel  was  filled  with  noise  by  the  pealing 
of  the  church  bell,  a  few  yards  off,  summoning  the  Pro- 
testants to  their  Sabbath  service.  Then  the  gathering 
of  people,  collected  together  under  pain  of  mortal  sin, 
dispersed  with  a  feeling  that  they  had  done  their  duty. 
I  cannot  bring  myself  to  believe  that  our  "  Church,"  as 
the  priests  call  themselves,  does  its  duty  by  celebrating 
these  brief  perfunctory  masses  and  compelling  us  to 
attend  them  as  the  one  thing  needful  on  the  Sabbath 
day.  Some  worthier  and  more  practical  means  should 
be  devised  by  our  priests  for  obeying  the  command, 
"  Remember  that  thou  keep  holy  the  Sabbath  day," 
than  a  compulsory  attendance  at  mass.  The  unedify- 
ing  and  unsatisfying  nature  of  the  service  seems  based 
on  the  assumption  that  the  laity  are  childish  folk,  for 
whom  posturing  without  instruction  will  suffice. 

The  largest  island  in  Lough  Erne,  Ennismore,  is  fully 
four  miles  wide,  and  •  possesses  considerable  interest. 
There  are  land  lakes  on  it,  full  of  baldcoots  and  great 
northern  divers,  their  rocky  shores  lined  with  pale 
straw-coloured  rushes,  while  grey  crows  float  in  the 
breeze,  and  magpies  hop  and  chatter  in  the  hedgerows. 
I  drove  across  the  island  from  Carrybridge,  over  the 
new  viaduct  erected  by  Mr.  Porter,  and  farther  on  in 
the  direction  of  Cuilcha  mountain,  at  the  top  of  which 
is  the  Shannon  Pot,  or  source  of  the  Shannon.  I  was 
impressed  by  the  industry  of  the  people  along  the 
route  ;  and  felt  that  if  our  medium-sized  holdings   in 


ENNISMORE   ISLAND  43 

the  south  of  Ireland  were  as  industriously  worked  as 
the  small  farms  in  Fermanagh,  the  province  of  Munster 
would  bo  a  garden.  We  often  hear  of  the  marvellous 
industry  of  the  Channel  Islanders,  who  sow  corn  sepa- 
rately, grain  by  grain,  and  carefully  note  the  produce  of 
each  seed  as  it  grows.  To  myself,  accustomed  to  the 
largo  farms  in  the  south  of  Ireland  and  the  wholesale 
quantities  in  which  corn  was  sown  on  my  father's  land, 
such  minute  attention  was  a  revelation.  But  I  was 
almost  as  much  astonished  at  seeing  small  fields  of  half 
an  acre  in  Fermanagh  planted  with  trenched  oats,  the 
field  being  divided  into  ridges  with  a  spade,  the  corn 
sown  by  hand,  cut  with  the  billhook,  and  the  little  crop 
as  carefully  attended  to  as  a  well-kept  kitchen-garden. 
Corn  in  general  is  left  out  in  stacks  in  the  field,  as  the 
ground  is  so  heavy  in  winter  that  if  cattle  were  allowed 
to  graze  on  the  stubbles  they  would  irreparably  cut  up 
the  surface  and  spoil  the  field.  The  corn  is  drawn  in  as 
required,  and  threshed  out  with  flails. 

In  many  of  the  farmyards  I  noticed  dead  pigs  hang- 
ing up,  scalded  and  prepared  for  market  in  Enniskillen. 

I  passed  several  National  Schools,  and  nowhere  could 
one  see  more  clear-skinned  or  promising  children  than 
those  who  peeped  out  from  their  playgrounds  over  the 
hedges.  The  tall  stature  of  the  men  impressed  me.  I 
was  informed  that  the  island  of  Ennismore  is  not  now 
as  prosperous  as  it  was  thirty  or  forty  years  ago  ;  for 
where  there  arc  only  caretakers  and  burdens  now,  there 
used  to  be  resident  farmers.  There  is  not  a  bit  of  the 
island  unoccupied  ;  but  much  of  it  is  held  by  enter- 
prising shopkeepers  or  farmers  living  at  a  distance. 
"  Drifts "  or  "  byres  "  of  good  cattle  are  to  be  seen  on 
the  island  which  contains  more  pasture  than  tillage. 
It  is  excellent  land,  like  most  of  the  arable  islands  of 
Ireland,  and  fetches  a  high  rent.      When  in  the  west  of 


44  PKIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

Ireland  I  was  astonished  to  hear  that  some  of  the 
countless  islands  in  Clew  Bay  fetched  very  high  rents ; 
and,  standing  under  the  shadow  of  Croagh  Patrick,  a 
local  farmer  pointed  out  an  island  for  which  ;^3  per 
acre  was  paid.  The  rents  on  Ennismore,  of  which  I  was 
told,  seemed  high  also,  but  the  pasture  is  very  good. 

The  way  in  which  the  industrious  Fermanagh  people 
till  their  bogs  is  characteristic.  The  bogs  are,  as  they 
say,  "  laboured  "  as  tillage  land.  When  it  is  decided  to 
cut  the  turf  in  a  bog,  the  skin,  or  productive  surface,  is 
carefully  removed,  and  the  turf  is  cut  to  a  depth  of  five 
or  six  feet.  As  the  bog  is  cut  away,  the  skin  or  surface 
soil  is  spread  over  the  bottom  from  which  the  turf  has 
been  removed,  and  this  bottom  is  then  tilled  just  as  the 
top  had  been.  When  the  top  layer  of  turf  has  been 
exhausted  over  a  considerable  area  of  the  bog,  a  second 
cutting  is  made  deeper  down,  and  the  surface  soil  again 
transferred  to  the  second  bottom,  on  which  crops  are 
grown  as  before.  Thus  you  will  see  a  bog  in  three 
stages  descending  like  steps  into  the  earth. 

Mr.  Porter  deserves  to  be  called  a  patriot  for  many 
reasons.  Ennismore  was  only  connected  with  the  main- 
land at  Carrybridge  before  the  erection  of  Mr.  Porter's 
bridge — a  solid  iron  structure  under  which  the  steamer 
sails  freely — and  which  noAv  establishes  communication 
with  the  mainland  at  the  opposite  side.  The  islanders, 
when  there  was  only  one  bridge,  had  to  make  a  long 
detour  when  about  to  attend  fairs  and  markets  in  the 
opposite  direction  to  that  in  which  the  bridge  lay,  or 
they  had  to  ship  their  cattle  and  carts  across  the  ferry 
in  cots. 

The  island  of  Belleisle,  in  which  Mr.  Porter  lives,  is 
inhabited  by  numerous  families  employed  about  his 
demesne,  living  in  separate  houses,  and  presenting  every 
appearance  of  comfort.     The  views  from  the  island  are 


THE   ERNE   DRAINAGE  45 

very  pretty.  The  upper  lake  which  one  sees  from  the 
front  of  the  house  is  dotted  with  numerous  wooded 
islands ;  one  of  tlicni,  a  lovely  three-acre  island,  is  in- 
habited by  Mr.  Porter's  gamekeeper,  and  I  cannot 
imagine  a  happier  life  than  a  healthy  man  and  his 
family  could  lead  on  this  three-acre  island.  If  all  our 
Irish  gentlemen,  more  especially  our  Roman  Catholic 
gentlemen,  could  be  induced  to  take  as  deep  an  interest 
in  their  localities,  and  in  their  poor  neighbours,  as  Mr. 
Porter  has  taken  in  the  Lough  Erne  district,  Ireland 
would  be  a  happy  country.  It  was  owing  to  Mr. 
Porter's  active  agitation  that  the  Board  of  Works 
carried  out  the  Lough  Erne  drainage  scheme.  The 
lands  on  the  lake  shore  used  to  suffer  severely 
from  flooding ;  and  heavy  loss  of  crops  ensued  for  the 
farmers.  That  is  now  changed  by  the  drainage  scheme, 
which  consisted  in  blasting  away  the  natural  bar  of  rock 
that  checked  the  progTCss  of  the  Erne  near  its  mouth, 
at  Belleek,  and  over  which  the  river  fell  in  picturesque 
cascades.  Heavy  sluice  gates  were  put  up,  and  the 
outflow  of  the  river  is  now  regulated,  so  as  to  keep  the 
waters  of  the  lakes,  as  nearly  as  possible,  at  a  uniform 
height.  Indeed,  it  would  now  be  possible  to  let  the 
entire  range  of  lakes  flow  off  into  the  sea.  But  no 
Fermanagh  man  or  woman  would  be  so  unpatriotic  as 
to  thus  "drink  Lough  Erne  dry."  Fermanagh  is  in 
close  touch  with  the  west  of  Ireland — most  of  the 
servants,  for  instance,  are  procured  at  the  hiring-fairs 
in  county  Leitrim — and  Mr.  Porter  believed  that  if  a 
good  waterway  were  made  between  Belfast  and  Galway, 
via  Lough  Erne,  Galway  could  be  made  a  point  of 
exportation  and  importation  for  goods  for  all  the  north 
of  Ireland  and  Belfast.  Many  ditiiculties  should  needs 
be  overcome  before  such  a  consummation  could  take 
place.     A  decreasing  and  disheartened  population  does 


46  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

not  favour  its  attainment.  But  Mr,  Porter  did  one 
man's  part.  It  was  largely  through  his  exertions  that 
the  bridge  connecting  the  island  of  Achill  with  the 
mainland  of  Mayo  was  erected,  a  work  which  has 
resulted  in  great  benefits  for  the  islanders. 

The  contrast  between  Fermanagh  and  the  adjacent 
county  of  Monaghan,  which  is  almost  three  -  fourths 
Catholic,  is  worthy  of  notice,  especially  as  Monaghan 
is  from  a  sacerdotal  point  of  view  superior  to  Fer- 
managh. The  county  of  Fermanagh  is  in  the  diocese 
of  Clogher,  which  includes  the  entire  county  of  Mona- 
ghan, and  portions  of  adjoining  counties. 

Monaghan  contains  54,757  Roman  Catholics  as  against 
19,854  members  of  the  Reformed  Churches,  and,  there- 
fore, may  be  called  a  Catholic  county;  while  Fermanagh 
is,  on  a  counting  of  heads,  45  per  cent.  Protestant 
and  55  per  cent.  Catholic.  But  if  we  look  into  the 
mental  and  industrial  condition  of  Fermanagh,  we 
shall  find  that  Protestant  ideas  and  Protestant  hard 
work,  energy  and  common  sense  are  dominant  in  the 
county.  In  Monaghan  the  reverse  of  this  is  the  case. 
For  instance,  while  the  capital  of  Fermanagh,  Ennis- 
killen,  is  one  of  those  Irish  towns  which  it  is  a  pleasure 
to  visit,  a  town  full  of  life,  business,  and  energy,  the 
capital  of  Monaghan,  which  is  the  town  of  Monaghan 
itself,  is  an  insignificant  town,  without  life,  distinc- 
tion, or  prosperity.  The  Catholics  of  the  county 
Monaghan,  although  they  are  in  such  a  majority,  re- 
main, as  a  whole,  poor  and  heartless  people.  I  have 
seen  them  collected  at  mass,  and  more  dispirited- 
looking  Irishmen  and  Irishwomen  it  would  be  hard  to 
find.  Our  Bishop  of  Clogher  resides  at  Monaghan ; 
and  the  late  bishop  succeeded  in  getting  sufficient 
money  from  the  poor  Catholics  of  the  diocese — and 
from  many  outsiders — to  build  and  equip  completely 


IN  CATHOLIC   MONAGHAN  47 

a  splendid  new  cathedral.  He  placed  the  cathedral 
on  a  lonely  hill,  about  a  mile  outside  the  town  of 
Monaghan,  where  it  stands  alone  in  its  glory.  The 
result  was  that  the  present  bishop  had  to  build  a  new 
Catholic  church  in  the  town  of  Monaghan  for  the  use 
of  the  townspeople,  which  was  completed  last  year  at 
considerable  expense.  The  consequence  of  sacerdotal 
autocracy  in  church  building  for  the  struggling  Catholic 
townsmen  of  Monaghan  was  that  they  not  only  had  to 
pay  a  large  share  of  the  cost  of  the  enormous  cathedral, 
from  the  free  use  of  which  they  were  debarred  by  its 
location,  but  they  had  also  to  incur  the  expense  of 
erecting  a  new  church  for  themselves. 

Monaghan,  then,  is  a  struggling  Irish  town,  with 
a  population  of  2900 ;  whereas  Enniskillen  is  a  pictur- 
esque, thriving  town  of  5412,  which  no  Irishman  need 
be  ashamed  to  show  to  a  visitor  from  foreisfn  lands. 
The  town  of  Monaghan  possesses  one  of  those  so-called 
industrial  schools,  managed  by  the  Sisters  of  St.  Louis, 
and  which  contained,  in  1901,  69  vagrant  little  girls, 
supported  by  the  State  at  an  annual  cost  of  £1167. 
It  also  contains  a  reformatory  for  juvenile  female 
offenders,  managed  by  the  Sisters  of  St.  Louis,  which 
contained,  in  1901,  17  inmates  supported  by  the 
State  at  a  cost  of  £4^1,  15s.  3d.,  or  on  an  average  of 
£2^,  2s.  2d.  per  head  per  annum.  The  Sisters  of  St. 
Louis  have,  in  addition,  "  a  boarding  school  for  young 
ladies,  and  a  day  school  for  the  female  children  of  the 
town,"  and  the  community  numbers  48  nuns.  There  is 
in  Monaghan  also  the  ecclesiastical  diocesan  seminary  of 
St,  Macartan,  conducted  by  the  bishop  and  a  staff  of 
priests,  for  the  education  of  young  men  for  the  priest- 
hood, of  which  I  shall  have  something  to  say.  In 
addition  to  the  diocesan  seminary,  there  is  also  in  the 
town  of  Monaghan  a  Christian  Brothers'  school ;  so  that 


48  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

in  the  matter  of  Catholic  education  under  priests'  con- 
trol, the  town  is  not  alone  sufficiently,  but  even  exces- 
sively, provided  for.  Near  the  town  of  Enniskillen  is 
the  Royal  School  of  Portora.  In  the  year  1885  the 
Roman  Catholic  Bishop  of  Clogher  approached  the 
Endowed  Schools  Commission,  posing  as  the  sole  re- 
presentative of  Roman  Catholic  opinion  in  the  diocese, 
and  speciously  persuaded  that  body  to  denude  the 
Portora  Royal  School  of  half  its  ancient  endowment 
and  hand  it  over  to  himself.  His  case  was  put  very 
plausibly,  and  may  be  thus  epitomised :  "  Portora  is  a 
Protestant  school.  I  forbid  the  Catholic  children  of 
Enniskillen  and  the  county  Fermanagh  to  attend  it, 
therefore  it  is  of  no  use  to  them.  Give  me  half  the 
endowment  and  I  will  start  an  intermediate  school 
for  the  town  of  Enniskillen  and  for  the  district  round 
it,  to  which  I  shall  not  only  permit,  but  encourage,  the 
Catholics  of  Enniskillen  and  district  to  send  their  sons, 
so  that  they  may  be  no  longer  without  superior  educa- 
tion." As  a  matter  of  fact,  several  Catholic  Enniskillen 
boys  used  to  attend  the  Portora  Royal  School  as  day- 
pupils.  The  Endowed  Schools  Commission,  as  far  as 
I  can  learn,  yielded  unconditionally  to  the  Catholic 
bishops  on  every  claim  they  advanced  in  this  and 
similar  cases.  They  split  the  Portora  endowment, 
and  conferred  half  of  it  upon  a  "  Catholic  Board " 
consisting  of  the  bishop,  four  other  priests,  and  four 
laymen.  And  the  Roman  Catholics  of  Enniskillen, 
who  number  about  2938,  a  figure  which  is  rather  more 
than  the  entire  population,  Protestant  and  Catholic,  of 
the  town  of  Monaghan,  have  had  no  endowment  for 
their  intermediate  education  from  that  date  to  the 
present  day.  They  have  only  a  National  School ;  and 
recently  a  Presentation  Brothers'  School.  According 
to  the   census  of   1901,   there  is  not  a  single  Roman 


THE   ENNISKILLEN  CATHOLICS  49 

Catholic  youth,  male  or  female,  in  the  county  Fer- 
managh, receiving  a  "  superior  "  education.  When  the 
Portora  endowment  was  divided  by  the  scheme  settled 
in  1 89 1,  it  was  understood  and  distinctly  stated  that 
it  was  to  be  devoted  to  providing  an  intermediate 
school  for  the  Catholic  youth  of  the  neighbourhood  of 
Portora,  that  is  to  say,  Enniskillen.  The  want  of  inter- 
mediate education  by  the  Roman  Catholics  of  Ennis- 
killen constituted  the  gist  of  the  case  for  the  division 
of  the  grant.  But  from  the  year  1891,  when  they  split 
the  endowment,  until  the  present  day,  no  money  has 
been  spent  on  superior  education  in  Enniskillen,  which 
remains  as  it  was  before.  And  the  reply  to  every 
remonstrance  addressed  to  Monaghan  by  the  Catholics 
of  Enniskillen  is  that  the  "Board"  has  been  spending 
the  endowment  upon  the  diocesan  seminary  at  Mona- 
ghan. Now  the  town  of  Monaghan  is  a  long  dis- 
tance from  Enniskillen,  about  thirty  miles  by  rail ;  and 
nobody  could  include  one  town  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  other.  The  two  towns  are  as  distinct  in  neigh- 
bourhood as  they  are  different  in  feeling  and  sentiment. 
The  grabbing  of  the  grant  has  been  keenly  resented  by 
the  Catholics  of  Enniskillen.  Last  year  a  resolution 
was  passed  by  the  United  Irish  League  of  North  Fer- 
managh, calling  for  restitution  of  the  money  which  was 
taken  from  Portora  Royal  School  with  the  object  of  pro- 
viding intermediate  secular  education  for  the  Catholics 
of  Fermanagh.  They  denounced  the  injustice  of  spend- 
ing the  money  in  the  diocesan  seminary  for  young  priests 
thirty  miles  away,  where  there  is  no  real  power  over  the 
bishop  to  check  or  question  his  method  of  appropriating 
the  substantial  yearly  grant.  A  committee  of  Ennis- 
killen Catholics  was  appointed  to  seek  redress  on  behalf 
of  their  native  town.  But,  in  vain !  Fur  the  hundredth 
time  it  was  proved  that  our  priests  are  always  ready  to 

D 


50  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

aggrandise  their  class  at  the  expense  of  the  laity.  Such 
conduct  explains  why  Catholic  countries,  when  priest- 
controlled,  are  ever  backward.  The  priest  is  ready  to 
wrong  the  layman  in  a  semi-Protestant  locality  like 
Fermanagh,  where  he  cannot  hope  to  be  complete  master, 
so  as  to  enrich  himself  in  a  mainly  Catholic  locality  like 
Monaghan.  The  result  of  sacerdotal  rule  in  the  Catholic 
part  of  Monaghan  is  decay ;  while  in  Enniskillen,  parti- 
ally blessed  by  the  priest's  absence,  we  see  a  bright 
town  and  a  bright  people.  There  is  not  in  Enniskillen 
a  criminal  reformatory,  vagrant  industrial  school,  a 
costly  cathedral,  a  new  bishop's  residence,  or  a  dio- 
cesan seminary.  There  is  one  convent  of  the  Sisters 
of  Mercy,  taking  an  endowment  from  the  National 
Board  of  Education,  and  having  a  community  of 
twenty-four  members,  and  there  is  the  Presentation 
Brothers'  School ;  and  these  are  the  only  religious 
institutions  in  the  county  of  Fermanagh.  But  in 
county  Monaghan  there  are  convents  at  Carrick- 
macross  and  at  Clones,  in  addition  to  those  in  the 
town  of  Monaghan. 

In  Monaghan  our  Catholic  bishop  and  priests  find  a 
state  of  things  eminently  to  their  satisfaction.  A  sub- 
servient, dispirited  lay  Catholic  population,  in  the  midst 
of  which  flourishes  a  glorified  and  richly  endowed  priest- 
hood, drawing  £  1 200  a  year  from  a  Protestant  endow- 
ment for  the  support  of  its  diocesan  seminary  ;  drawing, 
through  the  nuns,  close  upon  i^2ooo  a  year  for  the 
support  of  eighty-six  vagrant  and  criminal  infants; 
exercising  patronage  over  the  county  National  Schools  ; 
drawing,  through  the  nuns,  intermediate  result  fees  for 
the  convent  pupils,  and  drawing  the  same  directly  for 
the  diocesan  seminary  pupils ;  excluding  laymen  from 
all  practical  voice  in  the  work  of  Catholic  charity, 
church  management,  and  education  ;  possessing  a  fabu- 


THE   PRIEST   IN   MONAGHAN  51 

lously  expensive  cathedral,  perched  upon  a  hill,  where 
it  is  of  little  or  no  use  to  the  laity ;  engaged  in  building 
a  new  bishop's  residence ;  and  erecting  a  new  church  in 
the  town  of  Monaghan  to  supply  the  deficiencies  of  the 
new  cathedral. 

The  following  will  is  typical  of  the  spirit  of  Catholic 
Monaghan  : — Mary  Hart,  Corcreeghy,  Monaghan,  widow, 
died  on  the  26th  March  1902,  and  bequeathed  to  her 
executors,  on  trust,  "  her  lands  at  Tullykenny  and 
Cooldarragh,  to  dispose  of  same  and  to  expend  the 
purchase  money  in  having  masses  said  "  for  the  repose 
of  her  soul ;  and  she  bequeathed  "  all  the  residue  of  her 
estate,  in  trust,  to  apply  the  same  for  the  purpose  of 
having  masses  said."  ^  That  is  the  atmosphere  which 
the  priest  creates,  and  in  which  he  thrives,  as  we  shall 
see  in  the  seventh  chapter. 

In  Enniskillen  the  priest  is  in  his  proper  place. 
There  we  find  civic  life  and  prosperity.  But  the 
priest  dislikes  the  town,  and  will  give  no  facilities 
to  the  young  Roman  Catholics  of  Enniskillen  to 
acquire  "  superior "  education,  unless  they  consent  to 
leave  their  picturesque  native  town,  and  bury  them- 
selves in  Monaghan.  Such  a  state  of  things  could  not 
exist  if  our  laity  had  a  proper  share  in  the  management 
of  our  Church  and  educational  affairs. 

The  case  serves  as  an  object-lesson  for  us,  of  how  little 
we  may  expect  from  our  pampered  preternatural  clerics. 
They  have  never  hesitated  to  sacrifice  our  interests  to 
their  own.  When,  indeed,  has  our  priesthood  produced 
a  patriot  or  an  enlightened  broad-minded  man,  whom 
the  country  could  follow  with  confidence,  or  our  youth 
look  up  to  as  an  example  ? 

The  Enniskillen  Roman  Catholics  may  have  been 
treated  unfahly  ;  but,  since  they  could  only  have  got 

^  Freeman,  May  22,  1902. 


52  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

their  school  under  the  absolute  control  of  the  priests, 
they  do  not  suffer  any  real  loss  by  the  absence  of  such 
a  clerical  institution  from  their  town.  They  can  see 
how  little  gain  it  is  to  Monaghan,  Let  the  priest  keep 
all  his  ill-gotten  emoluments ;  they  are  "  his  reward." 
But  let  the  Enniskillen  Catholics  consider  that  their 
comparative  immunity  from  priestcraft  has  been  cheaply 
purchased,  even  at  the  cost  of  half  the  Portora  endow- 
ment. 

In  Fermanagh,  out  of  a  decrease  in  population  of 
8740,  in  the  decade  1891-1901,  emigration  accounted 
for  5403,  or  62  per  cent,  of  the  total  diminution.  In 
Monaghan,  during  the  same  period,  the  decrease  in 
population  was  11,595,  or  13.5  per  cent. — tlie  highest 
rate  of  decrease  in  Ireland  within  the  period — but,  of 
that  figure,  only  5301,  or  45  per  cent.,  was  accounted 
for  by  emigration. 

In  Fermanagh,  in  1901,  the  principals  of  the  sacer- 
dotal army — priests,  monks,  nuns,  and  teachers — were 
admitted  as  numbering  185.  In  Monaghan,  the  strength 
of  the  priests'  forces  the  same  year,  without  subsidiaries, 
was  disclosed  at  344.'^ 

The  sacerdotal  anti-marriage  fraternities  will  be  found, 
as  wo  proceed,  to  exercise  a  sinister  influence  upon  our 
people  in  many  vital  spheres.  But  let  it  suffice  to  notice 
hero  that  while  the  birth-rate  in  Fermanagh,  where  the 
priest  is  comparatively  weak,  exceeds  the  death-rate  by 
2.6  per  cent.,  the  birth-rate  and  death-rate  in  Monaghan 
are  practically  equal,  the  first  being  18.9  and  the  second 
18.3  per  cent.,  leaving  scarcely  any  margin  of  natural 
increase.! 

'  "  Census  of  Ireland,"  1901. 


CHAPTER  IV 

PRIESTS    AND    PEOPLE    IN    BELFAST 

"  MacEgan  a  prelate  like  Ambrose  of  old 

Forsakes  not  his  flock  when  the  spoiler  is  near, 
The  post  of  the  pastor's  in  front  of  the  fold 

When  the  wolf's  on  the  plain  and  thcru's  rapine  to  fear." 

— Dr.  Madden. 

The  Roman  Catholics  of  Belfast  constitute  nearly 
one-fourth  of  the  population  of  our  most  prosperous 
Irish  city — 84,000  out  of  348,000 ;  yet  the  only  record 
they  can  point  to  by  way  of  achievement,  as  a  body 
of  Belfast  citizens,  are  their  ecclesiastical  buildings, 
churches,  presbyteries,  convents,  and  sacerdotal  schools. 
In  the  words  of  the  Rev.  A.  Macaulay,  P.P.,  St.  Brigid's, 
addressing  the  members  of  the  Belfast  Catholic  Asso- 
ciation :  "  The  fruit  of  the  labours  of  those  who  have 
in  the  past  so  strenuously  wrought  for  your  benefit 
is  worthy  of  being  carefully  preserved.  You  have 
only  to  open  your  eyes  and  behold  massive  and  mag- 
nificent buildings  —  schools,  convents,  churches,  and 
other  institutions — in  order  to  show  what  your  ecclesi- 
(Mtical  aiUhorities  have  effected  for  yourselves,  your 
children  and  children's  children  ...  a  regular  series 
of  magnificent  works,  which  will  render  the  name  of 
Father  Convery  immortal."  It  is  the  "  ecclesiastical 
authorities,"  not  the  lay  subscribers,  who  get  the  credit 
of  the  work.  "  And  these  works  arc,  after  all,  but  pre- 
ludes to  the  glorious  fabrics  which,  in  the  past  few 
years,  have   arisen,  as  it  were,  under   the  touch  of  a 


54  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

magic  wand  by  the  fostering  care  of  tlie  prelate  (loud 
applause),  whom  thoughtless  people  now  ask  you  to 
insult;  for  I  hold  that  to  an  honourable  mind  in- 
gratitude is  fully  equivalent  to  insult.  How  can  you 
afterwards  look  on  those  stately  buildings — colleges,  insti- 
tutions, venerable  monasteries — without  the  bitter  pangs 
of  shame  and  remorse  (applause)  ?  "  ^  The  "  insult "  to 
which  he  refers  so  passionately,  consisted  in  a  Belfast 
layman,  Mr.  Matthew  M'Cusker,  standing  as  a  candidate 
for  the  representation  of  the  Falls  Ward  in  the  corpora- 
tion of  Belfast,  against  Dr.  M'Donnell,  the  candidate 
nominated  and  supported  by  Bishop  Henry !  One 
would  not  expect  to  find  language  so  redolent  of  the 
Middle  Ages  in  Belfast.  But,  there  it  is,  nevertheless. 
Nay,  what  is  worse  still,  wherever  you  see  one  of  our 
Roman  Catholic  churches,  or  a  "  venerable  monastery," 
or  a  "  gorgeous  fabric  "  in  Belfast,  in  any  portion  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  quarter,  you  will  also  see,  hovering 
around  in  the  vicinity,  dirty  women  and  children, 
barefooted,  with  unkempt  hair  and  ragged  clothes,  poor, 
mystified,  and  mendicant — the  guardian  angels  of  the 
"  magnificent  works  "  which  are  to  immortalise  Father 
Convery.  When  such  things  can  be  done  in  the  green 
wood  of  Belfast,  can  one  be  surprised  at  anything 
which  is  done  in  the  dry  wood  of  Mayo,  Donegal, 
Kerry,  or  Carlow  ? 

Father  Laverty,  V.G.,  on  the  same  occasion,  is 
reported  as  having  used  the  following  bullying 
words :  "  He  hoped  no  Nationalist  in  the  Falls  Ward 
would  be  so  recreant  as  to  vote  for  a  man  so  dishonour- 
able as  to  turn  his  back  on  his  friends  and  to  attack 
the  Association,  and  to  stab  in  the  hack  the  venerable 
President  of  the  Association,  the  Bishop  of  Down  and 
Connor.     He  was  proud  that  since  the  inception  of  the 

1  Irish  News,  January  9,  1902. 


THE  CATHOLIC   ASSOCIATION  55 

Catholic  Association,  he  had  stood  by  the  bishop  of  the 
diocese.  He  might  have  incurred  obloquy  from  his 
enemies,  but  he  spurned  such  obloquy,  for  he  felt  that 
it  was  his  duty,  as  it  was  the  duty  of  his  lordship,  the 
bishop,  to  organise  the  Catholic  Association  to  safe- 
guard and  protect  the  Catholic  interests  of  this  great 
city."  But  for  the  heroic  sacerdotal  shepherds,  the 
Protestant  wolves  would  devour  the  Roman  Catholic 
sheep.  How  false  !  The  Catholics  of  Belfast  live  well 
upon  the  work  of  the  Protestant  majority.  If  any  one 
dines  off  the  tender  and  juicy  inmates  of  the  Catholic 
sheep-pen,  it  is  the  prelatical  wielder  of  "  the  magic 
wand  "  and  the  other  "  ecclesiastical  authorities."  The 
one  Catholic  newspaper  of  Belfast,  the  Irish  News,  from 
which  I  quote,  is  the  docile  mouthpiece  of  the  bishop 
and  priests  ;  and,  in  a  leading  article  commenting  upon 
the  foregoing  proceedings,  it  says :  "  The  splendid 
reception  given  to  the  Very  Rev.  Father  Laverty  by 
the  Catholic  people  of  the  Falls  was  well  worthy  of 
the  vicar-general's  brilliant  and  fearless  services  to 
Catholicity  in  this  city.  Thanks  in  a  signal  degree  to 
his  labours,  the  Catholics  of  the  Falls  have  to-day 
the  power  to  send  a  representative  to  the  Town  Hall. 
Hence  the  unwarrantable  abuse  of  the  patriotic  priest 
in  the  Unionist  papers." 

There  is  no  foundation  whatever  for  this  statement. 
The  Unionists — that  is  to  say,  the  Protestants  of  Belfast 
— are  only  too  glad  to  find  intelligent  Catholics  filling 
places  upon  every  representative  board  in  the  city. 
They,  perhaps,  do  not  like  priest-ridden  Catholics  who 
speak  for  Father  Laverty  instead  of  for  themselves. 
But  who  does  ?  Neither  do  they  like  the  "  venerable 
monasteries "  and  "  gorgeous  fabrics,"  and  the  "  magni- 
ficent works  "  eulogised  by  Father  Macaulay,  and  which 
are  always  surrounded  by  poor,  neglected  people,  whose 


56  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

presence  constitutes  a  blot  on  the  community.  They 
prefer  such  magnificent  works  as  Harland  &  Wolff's, 
Workman  &  Clark's,  Robinson  &  Cleaver's,  Gallaher's, 
the  York  Street  Spinning  Company,  the  new  City  Hall, 
the  new  waterworks,  or  their  fine  public  library.  They 
know  that  Roman  Catholicity,  as  it  is  worked  by  the 
priests  in  Belfast,  is  nothing  but  a  drag  upon  the 
prosperity  of  their  native  city.  They  would  naturally 
encourage,  as  would  every  one  else  who  wishes  well  to 
Ireland,  the  efforts  of  such  a  man  as  Mr.  Matthew 
M'Cusker  shows  himself  to  be,  in  his  address  issued 
on  this  occasion  to  the  electors  of  the  Falls  Ward.  "  I 
have  resided  for  twenty-five  years  in  the  city,"  says  Mr. 
M'Cusker,  '-and,  having  during  that  period  acquired 
a  substantial  stake  in  the  community,  I  am  deeply 
interested  in  its  continued  prosperity  and  in  the 
efficient  and  economical  administration  of  the  public 
trust."  There  is  nothing  abusive  to  any  one  in  Mr. 
M'Cusker's  address.  It  is  a  plain,  business-like  docu- 
ment, and  does  him  credit.  But  the  result  of  the 
election  was  the  defeat  of  Mr.  M'Cusker,  who  received 
1080  votes,  and  the  return  of  Dr.  M'Donnell,  who  re- 
ceived 1 800 — a  victory  for  the  priests,  but  won  by  such 
misrepresentation  of  the  issues  at  stake  and  mediaeval 
eloquence  as  that  of  which  I  have  given  a  small 
example  in  my  extracts  from  the  speeches  of  Fathers 
Macaulay  and  Laverty. 

The  character  and  extent  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
ecclesiastical  establishment  in  Belfast  are  worth  noting. 
The  bishop  retains  all  the  city  parishes,  except  four, 
which  are  uaimportant,  in  his  own  hands,  so  that  he 
receives  all  the  money  made  in  them  except  the 
stipends  of  his  thirty-two  curates,  who  are  subordinates 
with  scarcely  any  rights  or  vested  interests.  The  four 
parish  priests  within  the  city  have  seven   curates   to 


THE   PRIESTS'   ARMY  57 

assist  them.  The  Passionists  and  the  Redemptorists 
are  estabHshed  in  force  in  Belfast  in  addition  to  the 
secular  priests;  and  two  classes  of  Christian  Brothers 
are  located  in  ditferent  districts  of  the  city.  The 
Sisters  of  Mercy  possess  a  convent  and  State-sub- 
sidised national  school  at  Crumlin  Road,  and  there 
they  have  an  "  industrial "  school  also,  containing  88 
vagrant  little  girls,  and  receiving  a  yearly  State  endow- 
ment of  ;^i450,  17s.  yd.;  they  have  another  convent 
and  national  schools  at  Sussex  Place ;  and,  as  we  shall 
see,  they  manage  the  new  sectarian  hospital,  known  as 
the  Mater  Infirmorum.  They  possess  also  the  Sacred 
Heart  Convent  at  Abbey ville,  with  an  "industrial" 
school  attached,  containing  95  vagrant  little  girls,  for 
whose  maintenance  the  State  pays  ^^1558,  15s.  id.  per 
annum.  The  Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd  have  a 
convent  and  Magdalen  Asylum  at  Ballynafeigh,  where 
the  "inmates,  under  the  direction  of  the  nuns,  make 
and  embroider  vestments,  &c."  ^  The  Dominican  Nuns 
have  a  boarding  and  day  school,  and  a  remunerative 
State-assisted  training-school  for  young  national  school- 
mistresses. There  are  also  a  convent  of  Bon  Secours 
at  Falls  Road ;  a  convent  of  Poor  Sisters  of  Nazareth 
at  Ballynafeigh  ;  a  convent  of  French  Sisters  of  Charity 
at  Clonard  Gardens,  working  State-aided  national 
schools;  a  convent  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Most  Holy 
Cross  and  Passion  at  Bally macar re  tt,  working  a  national 
school  also.  There  is  the  diocesan  college  of  Down 
and  Connor,  owned  by  the  bishop,  called  St.  Malachy's, 
in  which  the  priests  swoop  down  upon  all  the  money 
spent  by  the  Belfast  Catholics  on  "superior"  education, 
and  of  which  Father  Laverty,  V.G.,  fresh  from  the 
hustings,  is  the  president,  and  where  all  the  teaching 
is  done  or  directed  by  priests.     There  is  also  the  St. 

^  Catholic  Directory,  1902. 


58  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

Patrick's  male  "  industrial "  school  at  Milltown,  Belfast, 
in  which  164  vagrant  boys  are  "maintained"  under 
clerical  control  at  a  cost  of  ;^2530,  17s.  4d.  per  annum 
to  the  State.  The  drawings  of  public  money  by  the 
clerical  managers  of  Catholic  "industrial"  schools  in 
Belfast  city  alone  amount  to  ;i^5540,  los.  per  annum. 
If  the  Protestant  community  in  Ulster  drew  a  pro- 
portionate sum  for  minding  derelict  children,  it  would 
amount  in  money  to  ^^60,94 5,  los.  per  annum.  But  the 
entire  Protestant  community  of  Belfast  city  and  the 
whole  of  the  province  of  Ulster  combined,  having  a 
population  of  882,299,  only  receive  ;^999i,  us.  5d. 
for  the  purpose ;  and  this  amount  covers  a  great  deal 
of  territory  outside  Ulster  as  well.  The  Catholic  priests 
and  nuns  of  Ulster,  on  behalf  of  the  Catholic  popula- 
tion, outside  the  radius  of  Belfast,  draw  an  additional 
;^7428,  13s.  lod.  for  "industrial "  schools,  making  a  total 
of  ^12,974,  3s.  lod.  per  annum,  taken;  under  the  In- 
dustrial Schools  Act,  by  the  Ulster  priests'  organisa- 
tion; a  condition  of  things  with  which  self-respecting 
Catholic  laymen  should  not  be  content.  Thus  the 
art  and  craft  of  our  priest  and  his  helpmate  the  nun, 
flourish  in  Belfast  and  Ulster,  where  one  would  have 
hoped  to  find  sacerdotalism  kept  in  abeyance  by  the 
laity.  A  trade  in  vagrants,  derelicts,  invalids,  mendi- 
cants, and  sinners  is  being  carried  on,  and  thrives 
amongst  the  Roman  Catholics  in  the  northern  diamond 
of  Ireland,  just  as  the  same  industries  do  in  priest- 
infested  lands  all  over  the  globe. 

Within  recent  years  the  Belfast  Catholics  have  been 
induced  to  add  to  the  list  of  the  architectural  achieve- 
ments of  "  their  ecclesiastical  authorities  "  a  new,  priest- 
owned  hospital  for  Catholics,  managed  by  nuns,  and 
called  the  "  Mater  Infirmorum."  The  "  venerable " 
bishop  and  "  immortal  "  priests  of  Belfast  seem  in  con- 


THE  MATER  INFIRMORUM  59 

stant  terror  lest  the  fence  of  bigotry  and  isolation 
which  they  maintain  between  the  lay  Roman  Catholics 
and  their  Protestant  fellow-citizens  should  be  broken 
down ;  and  the  origin  of  the  "  Mater  Infirmorum " 
Hospital  gives  an  instance  of  the  extremes  to  which 
they  are  driven  by  their  jealous  precautions  lest  any  of 
the  funds  derivable  from  the  laity  should  by  any  chance 
be  diverted  from  the  priestly  organisation. 

It  was  in  the  year  1 897,  at  the  celebration  of  Queen 
Victoria's  diamond  jubilee,  that  it  occurred  to  the 
practical  people  of  Belfast  to  found,  by  way  of  com- 
memoration, a  large  hospital  adequate  to  the  needs 
of  a  commercial  city  of  the  first  class.  A  fund  of  over 
;^  1 00,000  was  then  subscribed,  and  the  Royal  Victoria 
Hospital  was  founded;  a  fine  institution,  adequate  in 
every  way  to  all  the  needs  of  the  city.  The  Belfast 
Roman  Catholics,  lay  and  clerical,  took  no  part  in  the 
Queen's  diamond  jubilee.  But  when  the  intended 
foundation  of  the  Victoria  Hospital  was  announced,  and 
in  order  to  prevent  Catholic  working-people  from  going 
to  the  new  institution  in  sickness  or  accident — 
though  no  restriction  whatever  was  placed  upon  the 
clergy  of  all  denominations  visiting  patients  in  that 
hospital  —  the  "  ecclesiastical  authorities  "  of  Belfast 
started  the  project  of  a  separate  nun-managed  hospital 
for  themselves,  to  be  called  the  "Mater  Infirmorum." 
They  refused  to  take  any  part  in  the  building  or 
management  of  the  Royal  Victoria  Hospital,  though 
offered  adequate  representation  on  its  Board  of  Gover- 
nors. By  means  of  "  the  magic  wand  "  they  built  their 
new  hospital ;  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  are  installed  in  the 
"  Mater  Infirmorum  "  to-day,  and  it  is  being  managed, 
like  every  other  religious  hospital  in  Ireland,  over  the 
heads  of  the  laity  and,  as  I  believe,  on  a  profit-making 
basis.     The  inspection  of  all  books  and  accounts  and 


60  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

the  management  of  all  profits  are  vested  in  the  bishop 
of  the  diocese  in  the  case  of  every  nun-managed  institu- 
tion in  the  country  that  I  know  of.  One  who  did  not 
know  Ireland  would  conclude  that  no  pecuniary  support 
could  possibly  be  solicited  from  the  Belfast  Protestants 
for  an  institution  founded  under  such  circumstances. 
On  the  contrary,  the  facts  by  no  means  prevent  the 
nuns,  whom  I  can  never  regard  as  anything  more  than 
the  agents  and  managers  of  the  bishop,  from  dunning 
the  Protestant  members  of  the  Belfast  community  for 
periodical  subscriptions  to  its  support.  Short  a  space 
of  time  as  it  has  been  founded,  it  is  already  in  a  dis- 
tressful state  of  impecuniosity.  This  does  not  surprise 
me,  for  it  would  be  bad  business  on  the  part  of  the 
managers  of  any  religious  institution  to  profess  to  be 
otherwise.  A  circular  issued  in  connection  with  it,  in 
September  1901,  states:  "The  object  of  the  annual 
collection  is  to  defray  current  expenses,  which,  accord- 
ing to  the  balance-sheet  for  last  year,  amounted  to 
£/^lig,  14s.  lod.,  while  the  total  receipts  from  all 
sources,  viz.  the  collections  in  the  city  churches  and 
country  parishes,  subscriptions,  donations,  pay  patients, 
St.  Anthony's  Bread " — the  reader  of  this  book  will 
know  something  about  that  superstition — "  &c.,  were 
i^2955,  OS.  2d.,  leaving  a  deficit  of  £1^64,  14s.  8d.,  which 
was  supplied  from  building  fund  ;^I224,  3s.,  and  due  to 
the  bank  ;^I40,  lis.  8d.  It  is,  therefore,  an  error  to 
suppose  that  the  receipts  of  last  year  came  from  capital 
invested.  To  remove  this  error,  into  which  it  would 
seem  some  of  the  friends  of  the  hospital  have  fallen, 
it  is  necessary  to  emphasise  the  fact  that  the  receipts 
of  last  year  came  from  the  sources  above  indicated. 
While  the  expenditure  steadily  increases,  these  sources 
of  income,  it  may  be  mentioned,  are  always  very 
uncertain." 


Catjiedkal  Stkeet,  Letterkenny 

"  Whether  at  Rome,  or  at  the  Killybega  Industrial  School,  or  the 
Count;/  Anj/lum  Board,  or  in  hig  cathedral  which  their  pence  erected  for 
him  at  Letterkenny,  d-c."  (p.  89). 


SCRIPTURE   AND   LIBERALITY  6i 

This  document  is  subscribed  by  the  Sisters  of  Mercy, 
who  are  in  charge  of  the  institution,  but  we  may  be 
sure  that  their  "  ecclesiastical  authorities  "  were  not  with- 
out cognisance  of  and  participation  in  its  composition. 
It  winds  up  with  this  quotation  from  the  Psalms,  cal- 
culated to  evoke  Protestant  sjnnpathy:  "Blessed  is  he 
that  understandeth  concerning  the  needy  and  the  poor, 
the  Lord  will  deliver  him  in  the  evil  day."  It  is  well  for 
the  Belfast  Protestants  that  they  do  not  require  any 
assistance  for  their  delivery  in  the  evil  day  from  the 
Sisters  of  Mercy  or  St.  Anthony's  Bread,  or  from 
Bishop  Henry,  or  Father  Macaiday,  or  Father  Laverty. 
They,  I  should  think,  stand  as  near  to  the  Lord,  to 
put  it  mildly,  as  do  those  ecclesiastical  experts  in  the 
sufferings  of  "  the  needy  and  the  poor."  The  issue  of 
such  a  whining  appeal  suggests  the  query,  What  about 
the  magic  wand?  Can  the  laity  continue  to  believe 
in  its  omnipotence  after  such  a  disclosure  ?  There  is 
a  degree  of  cunning,  positively  staggering  to  those  who 
expect  to  find  simple  straightforwardness  in  professed 
clerics,  to  be  met  with  in  all  preachers  of  sectarian 
bigotry  and  fomenters  of  religious  discord.  The  "  eccle- 
siastical authorities"  who  rejected  the  Victoria  Hospital 
scheme,  have  not  hesitated,  I  understand,  to  employ 
the  services  of  some  persons  belonging  to  the  Reformed 
Churches  !  Will  such  procedure  induce  the  Protestant 
community  of  Belfast  to  subscribe  to  their  funds  ?  The 
liberality  of  Protestants  is  so  great  that  they  may  get 
the  subscriptions.  Indeed,  public  collections  are  made 
openly  in  the  streets  of  Belfast  for  this  hospital,  and 
generously  responded  to  by  the  Protestant  city.  One 
of  the  leading  commercial  firms  in  Belfast,  whose  prin- 
cipals are  Presbyterians,  handed  me  the  following 
begging  circular  addressed  to  them : — 


62  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

^^  September,  12,  1901. 

"Dear  Messrs.  , — Presuming  on  jour  charity 

I  take  the  liberty  of  enclosing  notice  of  the  annual 
collection  for  the  maintenance  of  the  above  hospital, 
and  of  appealing  to  you  on  behalf  of  the  sick  and 
afflicted  treated  in  the  institution.  Any  contribution 
forwarded  to  the  hospital  will  be  gratefully  acknow- 
ledged. —  Believe  me  in  anticipation,  yours  much 
obliged, 

"Sister  Mary  Magdalene 

"  {Swperioress)." 

The  Catholic  Association  of  Belfast  is  one  of  those 
sectarian  institutions  which  make  for  the  perma- 
nent isolation  of  its  members  from  the  bulk  of  their 
fellow  -  citizens.  It  was  founded  by  the  bishop  and 
priests  after  the  fall  of  Mr.  Parnell,  and  the  consequent 
disintegration  of  the  Irish  party.  Through  it  the 
priests  partially  control  the  political  views  and  actions 
of  the  Belfast  Catholics ;  and  the  association  tightens 
the  grasp  of  sacerdotalism  on  the  laity.  Let  it  pro- 
fess to  be  what  it  may,  that  is  its  actual  result.  It  is  a 
religious  society  in  which  politics  and  religion  work 
in  combination  for  the  estrangement  of  the  Belfast 
Catholics  from  the  progressive  majority,  amongst 
whom  they  are  induced  to  live  in  a  state  of  isolation 
and  revolt  rather  than  partnership.  Indeed,  when- 
ever they  meet  under  the  auspices  of  this  Catholic 
Association,  for  political  or  municipal  purposes,  they 
are  under  direct  clerical  control,  and  they  are  mem- 
bers of  a  religious  association  breathing  forth  anta- 
gonism to  all  outside  the  influence  of  Bishop  Henry's 
"  magic  wand,"  under  which  "  glorious  fabrics  "  arise  like 
Aladdin's  palaces.  In  any  secular  society  there  might 
be  a  sprinkling  of  Protestants  holding  Nationalist  views. 


DUTY  OF  BELFAST   CATHOLICS  63 

there  would  be  some  semblance  of  independence  and 
freedom  of  speech  and  thought.  But  in  this  Catholic 
Association  there  is  no  room  for  anybody  but  an 
obedient  servant  of  the  priests,  be  he  a  professional 
man  or  a  trader.  I  have  often  been  struck  when  in 
Belfast  by  the  poverty  of  the  Catholic  quarters,  and 
overwhelmed  with  sadness  at  the  position  of  our  people 
in  that  great  and  rising  city,  where  they  have  such 
splendid  opportunities  of  improving  their  position  in 
the  scale  of  humanity.  They  can  see  daily  before  their 
eyes  numerous  examples  of  self-made  men  in  almost 
every  walk  of  life.  They  see  their  Protestant  neigh- 
bours enjoying  to  the  full  all  the  fruits  of  their  industry. 
They  see  them  cheerful,  active,  and  industrious;  work- 
ing hard  for  six  days  of  the  week  and  concentrating  all 
their  energies  on  their  legitimate  business ;  and  on  the 
seventh  day  devoting  themselves  to  rest  and  to  the 
society  of  their  families,  and  engaged  in  the  considera- 
tion of  their  religion  and  the  payment  of  proper  respect 
to  their  Creator,  the  Giver  of  all  good.  One  would  look, 
not  unnaturally,  with  hope  to  the  84,000  Catholics 
settled  in  Belfast  for  an  example  of  enlightenment  by 
which  their  fellow-religionists  in  all  Ireland  might 
profit.  The  action  of  men  like  Mr.  M'Cusker,  in  the 
Falls  Ward  election,  and  those  who  think  with  him, 
whatever  may  be  their  political  views,  would  seem 
to  afford  solid  reason  for  thinking  that  the  Roman 
Catholics  of  Belfast  will  at  length  awaken  to  a  sense 
of  the  subordinate  and  damaging  position  which  their 
priests  constrain  them  to  occupy.  "  Magic  wands," 
"  massive  and  magnificent  buildings,"  "  glorious  fabrics," 
and  "  venerable  monasteries "  cannot  always  be  con- 
sidered all-sufficing  for  practical  men.  If  the  lay 
Catholics  of  Belfast  desire  to  go  forward  with  their  city 
they  should  rescue  themselves  without  delay  from  their 


64  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

present  position.  Hundreds  of  heads  of  Catholic  families 
in  Belfast  have  been  driven  to  the  necessity  of  becoming 
licensed  publicans  in  order  to  get  a  living  ;  and  the  vast 
majority  of  the  publicans'  licences  in  this  Protestant 
city  are  held  by  Catholics.  It  has  long  been  a  well- 
known  fact  that  many  Catholic  public-houses  used  to 
be  mortgaged  to  the  Catholic  bishop — it  may  not  be  the 
case  now — and  that  most  of  those  "  glorious  fabrics  " 
dilated  upon  by  Father  Macaulay  were  erected  with  the 
subscriptions  of  the  bishop's  publican-mortgagors.  Let 
the  Catholics  of  Belfast  reflect.  Why  should  they  not 
take  a  creditable  part  in  the  great  industries  of  Belfast, 
and  assert  themselves  like  men,  apart  altogether  from 
religion,  in  the  management  of  their  native  city  ?  It 
suits  the  priests  admirably  to  see  the  Catholic  popula- 
tion of  the  city  engaged  cither  in  the  drink  trade  or  in 
the  commonest  forms  of  labour.  Our  Catholic  priests, 
as  a  body,  have  no  antipathy  to  the  drink  trade  in  any 
part  of  Ireland.  It  is  a  prolific  source  of  income  for 
them,  their  platitudes  on  temperance  notwithstanding. 
I  do  not  cast  a  reflection  upon  the  persons  engaged, 
unhappily  for  themselves,  in  the  retail  distribution  of 
drink.  But,  if  it  were  my  duty  to  do  so,  I  should  most 
earnestly  adjure  the  Catholic  parents  of  Ireland, 
whether  they  be  licensed  traders  or  not,  never  to  put 
their  sons  to  that  business,  save  as  a  last  resource  ! 
I  should  implore  the  Catholic  youth  of  Ireland,  if  my 
words  could  reach  them,  not  to  go  to  that  business, 
even  when  they  think  it  is  a  last  resource  !  Let  the 
manufacturers  make  money  in  millions,  if  they  will ;  let 
them  be  the  welcome  guests  of  royalty  because  of  their 
success  in  its  manufacture  ;  let  rich  brewers  be  ennobled 
by  the  score  because  the  Powers  That  Be  so  will  it ; 
but  let  the  respectable,  self-supporting,  state-supporting 
Catholic  citizens  of  Belfast  follow  the  example  of  their 


MR.   MICHAEL  DAVITT  6$ 

Protestant  fellow-countrymen  and  leave  the  exacting 
work  of  drink  distribution  to  be  attended  to  by  those 
who  reap  nine-tenths  of  the  profits  and  all  the  honours 
of  the  Belfast  trade.  Let  the  wife's  emaciated  frame, 
the  widow's  penury,  the  father's  grey  hairs  bowed  down 
in  sorrow  to  the  grave,  and  the  orphan's  destitution, 
be  placed  to  the  debit  of  those  who  are  the  first 
cause ;  and  let  the  Catholics  of  Belfast  claim  a  fitting 
share  in  the  great  world-enterprises  for  which  Belfast 
is  becoming  famous. 

It  is  dawning  upon  our  politician-patriots  that  the 
species  of  religion  practised  by  us,  Catholic  Irish,  may 
be  to  blame  for  the  unhappy  condition  m  which  we 
find  ourselves.  The  environment  of  the  present  Irish 
party  is  not  one  calculated  to  embolden  its  members 
to  enunciate  such  an  idea.  In  a  recent  address,  de- 
livered in  Belfast,  Mr.  Michael  Davitt,  who  is  not  now 
a  member  of  the  Irish  party — having  left  it  about  the 
time  that  one  of  the  Irish  bishops  was  appointed  head 
paymaster  and  treasurer  of  the  funds — struggled  Avith 
some  half-expressed  convictions  on  this  vital  subject. 
His  speech  was  delivered  in  honour  of  the  centenary 
of  Robert  Emmet,  and  he  is  thus  reported  ^ :  "  The 
three  permanent  popular  forces  of  Ireland — the  Church, 
the  moral  force,  and  the  physical  influences — were  all 
responsible  alike  for  this  shameless  epidemic  of  moral 
cowardice  on  the  part  of  the  people.  Had  they  been 
told  in  Ireland — as  Archbishop  Hughes  of  New  York 
told  them  when  too  late,  that  it  was  permissible  on  the 
part  of  a  starving  man  to  seize  the  sacrificial  bread  off 
the  Altar  of  God  if  it  would  save  his  children's  life  in  a 
famine — if  that  sound  Christian  and  national  doctrine 
had  been  taught  in  Ireland  in  1847  by  prelates  and 
patriots,  the  year  of  the  Black  Famine  might  have  been 

^  Freeman's  Journal,  March  5,  1902. 

E 


66  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

a  year  of  less  humiliating  reproach  to  Irish  national 
manhood  and  memory." 

Mr.  Davitt  is  referring  to  what  he  calls  "  The  appall- 
ing chapter  of  our  history,  which  tells  of  300,000  deaths 
from  starvation,  in  a  land  with  plenty  of  food,  and  with 
8,000,000  of  people,  and  which  records  to  our  eternal 
shame  as  a  race  that  there  were  not  1000  of  those 
300,000  miserables  found  willing  to  sacrifice  their 
wretched  lives  by  throwing  themselves  against  the 
forces  of  England,  which  stood  by  to  see  fair  play 
between  the  famine  and  its  victims." 

I  am  glad  to  see  that  Mr.  Davitt  acknowledges  the 
"  Church "  to  be  the  first  of  the  permanent  popular 
forces  in  Ireland ;  and,  therefore,  the  organisation  re- 
sponsible in  the  first  degree  for  our  degeneracy.  He 
might  have  gone  further  and  said  that  the  "  Church  " 
now  includes  the  two  remaining  forces  which  he  men- 
tions. It  controls  the  Irish  party,  which  is  the  "  moral 
force  "  alluded  to  by  Mr.  Davitt ;  and  the  physical  force 
party,  if  it  exists,  is  equally  dependent.  And,  further- 
more, the  legislation  of  our  common  Government — 
which  has  again  been  "  standing  by  to  see  fair  play  " 
between  the  priests  and  their  flocks  or  victims,  as 
Mr.  Davitt  charges  it  with  having  stood  by  between 
the  famine  and  its  victims — has  endowed  the  "  Church  " 
with  supreme  control  over  the  minds  of  the  children 
of  Catholic  Ireland.  Hence  its  power ;  and  hence  the 
Government's  contempt  for  Mr,  Davitt,  Some  future 
critic  of  our  times,  when  the  priest  has  done  his  work 
as  effectually  as  the  famine,  will  revile  the  "  miserables  " 
who  now  inhabit  the  island  for  not  having  resisted  the 
priest.  Not  by  such  thievish  heroism  as  Archbishop 
Hughes  preached,  but  by  manly  self-assertion  and  firm 
resolve  not  to  be  trifled  with,  can  we  win  our  coming 
battle  with  the  priests.     Our  lives  are  not  asked  from 


A  RACE  OF   MISERABLES  6y 

us,  only  a  little  pluck  and,  perhaps,  some  brief  discom- 
fort. But,  if  the  sacrifice  of  life  itself  should  prove 
necessary,  it  could  not  be  given  in  a  nobler  cause  than 
that  of  the  emancipation  of  the  mind  of  one's  own 
people.  I  dare  not  hope  that  Mr.  Davitt,  much  as  I 
find  myself  in  agreement  with  the  sentiments  of  many 
of  his  speeches  and  writings,  will  take  any  practical 
steps  to  put  his  innuendoes  against  the  priests  into 
practice.  In  Belfast,  where  his  speech  was  delivered, 
he  was  inhalmg  an  atmosphere  of  moral  strength  and 
independence.  He  was  not  the  guest  of  the  Catholic 
Association.  Therefore  he  found  himself  in  a  posi- 
tion to  half-express  a  conclusion  that  the  Church  is  the 
prime  cause  of  our  mental  and  physical  penury.  Such 
is  the  influence  of  a  free  environment.  But  when  Mr. 
Davitt  goes  to  Dublin,  to  Cork,  to  Limerick,  to  Water- 
ford,  or  to  Galway,  he  will  find  that  "  shameless  epidemic 
of  moral  cowardice  on  the  part  of  the  people  "  as  ram- 
pant as  he  describes  it  to  have  been  in  1847,  and  a 
criticism  of  the  priests  in  any  of  those  towns  would  put 
too  great  a  strain  even  on  his  own  moral  courage.  Mr. 
Davitt  taunts  the  son  of  Daniel  O'Connell,  the  Catholic 
Liberator,  with  "  having  made  it  a  boast  one  day  in 
Dublin  that  God  had  permitted  him  to  live  in  a  land 
in  which  there  was  a  race  of  men  who  would  rather  die 
than  defraud  their  landlords  of  the  rent."  May  not  our 
children  taunt  Mr.  Davitt  himself  with  being  a  party  to 
the  far  more  degrading  boast  that  we  now  live  in  a  land 
in  which  there  is  a  race  of  "  miserables  "  who  would  die 
rather  than  assert  their  own  and  their  children's  riofht 
to  free  mental  development,  through  fear  of  a  priest- 
craft under  whose  malign  blight  they  are  decaying ;  a 
race  of  men  who  Avould  rather  die  (in  bed)  than  claim 
the  inalienable  right  of  their  children  to  good  and  true 
education,  as  the  result  of  which  they  might  develop 


68  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

into  self-respecting  free  citizens  worthy  to  rule  a  free 
land  ?  Mr.  Davitt  calls  the  generation  after  Daniel 
O'Connell's  time  "  a  soulless  age  of  pitiable  cowardice." 
Despite  his  great  ability,  Daniel  O'Connell  at  his  best 
was  but  a  termagant ;  and,  at  his  death,  he  showed 
himself  steeped  to  the  lips  in  Italian  unctuousness. 
When  in  his  prime  he  used  to  declare  for  "  religion 
from  Rome,  but  politics  from  home."  But  the  in- 
grained Roman  Catholic  weakness  was  in  him ;  and 
his  will,  in  which  he  split  up  his  body,  leaving  the 
better  part  of  it  in  Rome  and  consigning  the  rest  to 
Ireland,  will  be  a  subject  of  criticism  for  generations, 
who  will  mock  the  theatricalities  of  our  Roman  Catholic 
Irish  politicians.  The  Catholic  emancipation  which 
O'Connell  won  for  us  has  emancipated  the  priest  so 
that  he  might  enslave  the  layman's  mind.  All  the 
gain  resultant  from  it,  so  far,  lies  with  the  clerical  class. 
We  have  the  right  to  vote ;  we  can  elect  a  member  of 
Parliament,  but,  when  elected,  he  serves  the  priest  and 
injures  us  by  his  public  conduct.  Our  minds  are  in 
manacles  firmly  riveted  on  by  the  priest  in  the  school ; 
our  youthful  spirit  is  broken  by  him  beyond  reparation. 
And  it  is  probable  that  the  Irish  politician  of  fifty  years 
hence  will  be  as  scathing  in  his  denunciation  of  Mr. 
Davitt  for  his  subservience  to  our  selfish  priesthood  of 
to-day,  as  Mr.  Davitt  is  unsparing  in  his  censure  of  the 
poor  Irish  Catholics  who  died  in  1847.  Our  Irish 
politicians,  like  Mr.  Davitt,  ought  to  be  the  champions 
of  the  liberties  of  the  laymen  of  Ireland.  But,  so  far 
from  ranging  themselves  on  the  side  of  true  freedom, 
they  are  selling  the  birthright  of  their  country  for  a 
mess  of  pottage  to  the  Irish  priests,  who  are  themselves 
the  partners  of  the  ravening  Italian  priests  at  Rome. 
It  must  bo  borne  in  mind  that,  in  the  partnership  with 
Rome,  the  Irish  priests  get  the  larger  share  of  the  spoils ; 


OUR  PRIEST-PAID   MEMBERS  69 

but  in  the  partnership  of  the  Irish  members  with  the 
priests,  all  the  spoils  are  for  the  priests.  The  Irish 
party,  since  1 890,  may  be  justly  charged  fifty  years  hence 
with  having  "  stood  by  "  while  the  Irish  race  at  home 
were  being  reduced  to  the  level  of  the  poor  Italian 
"  dagoes  "  ;  and  that  they  took  "  priest's  money  " — 
which,  it  is  said,  brings  bad  luck  to  the  recipient— for 
their  parliamentary  fund,  while  the  birthright  of  free- 
dom was  being  filched  from  the  people  by  the  priests. 
What  betrayal  could  be  more  serious,  more  irremedi- 
able ?  What  a  false  note  runs  through  the  mock- 
heroism  of  their  speeches  on  Magdalen  laundries, 
Catholic  chaplaincies  in  the  navy,  priest-managed  uni- 
versities, and  other  clerical  business  in  the  House  of 
Commons !  Little,  indeed,  need  our  common  Govern- 
ment fear,  nnich  though  they  may  pity,  such  a  body 
of  parliamentarians.  Little  respect  have  the  priests 
themselves  for  that  party,  whose  members  are  constantly 
gibed  at  in  the  priests'  especial  prints.  I  should  advise 
Mr.  Davitt  to  read  one  of  the  priests'  newspapers  if  he 
wants  to  know  how  the  priests  regard  him  and  his 
friends  ;  and  how  little  it  redounds  to  the  credit  of  an 
Irishman  to  serve  our  priests. 

It  has  often  struck  me  that  the  Roman  Catholics  of 
Belfast  have  an  example  before  their  eyes  which  should 
imbue  them  with  the  necessary  courage  to  be  the  first 
Catholic  body  in  Ireland  to  insist  upon  a  fair  division 
of  authority,  in  educational,  charitable,  and  Church  work, 
amongst  the  laity  and  the  clergy.  The  Presbyterian 
and  Episcopalian  churches  are  the  predominant  religious 
bodies  in  the  city  ;  and  our  fellow-Catholics  must  know 
countless  instances  of  the  marvellous  success  of  indi- 
vidual members  of  those  Churches  in  life. 

How  self-reliant,  cheerful,  and  industrious  the  Pres- 
byterians are,  for  instance.     It  often  edifies  me  to  see 


70  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

the  amount  of  really  hard  work  done  by  them  every- 
where ;  some  of  them  in  Dublm,  for  instance,  are  the 
most  hard-working  men  I  know  ;  at  work  late  and  early  ; 
always  at  work,  at  full  pressure.  For  six  days  of  the 
week  their  energies  are  concentrated  on  their  business, 
and  they  do  not  know  how  to  idle,  even  when  they 
acquire  money.  I  believe  that  the  strenuous,  constant 
work  of  the  Presbyterian  body  is  one  of  the  most  salu- 
tary elements  in  the  social  life  of  Ireland.  I  attended  for 
half-an-hour  at  the  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  in 
Belfast  in  the  year  1 90 1 ,  held  in  the  Presbyterian  church 
at  May  Street.  I  had  never  been  in  a  Presbyterian 
church  before  that  day ;  and  its  plainness  and  comfort 
came  as  a  revelation  upon  me.  The  ground  floor  and 
the  galleries  were  filled  with  comfortable  pews.  There 
was  no  dirt,  no  discomfort,  no  ostentation  in  the  shape 
of  expensive  pictures,  statues,  or  altars.  Indeed,  a 
Catholic  would  not  recognise  the  interior  of  the  build- 
ing as  being  the  interior  of  a  church.  There  were  no 
draughts ;  no  expectorations  on  the  floors ;  no  ragged 
people  to  be  seen  inside  or  outside  the  building. 

A  Roman  Catholic  American,  speaking  the  other  day 
in  Dublin,  said  :  "  I  have  not  seen  a  clean  church  since 
I  came  to  Ireland."  He  had  been  at  mass  in  many 
of  our  Dublin  churches,  and  the  dirt  and  discomfort 
of  them  amazed  him. 

The  interior  of  May  Street  church  was  therefore  a 
pleasant  sight  to  me,  accustomed  only  to  our  priest- 
managed  churches ;  the  comfort  of  the  pews,  the  solidity 
of  the  fixtures,  the  sensible  and  solemn  appearance  of 
the  place  of  worship.  When  I  looked  round  at  the 
people  who  were  in  the  church,  I  beheld  a  collection 
of  ministers  and  laymen,  old,  young,  and  middle-aged, 
sitting  promiscuously  in  the  various  pews,  chatting  like 
the  members  in  the  House  of  Commons.     A  Presby- 


AT  THE   GENERAL  ASSEMBLY  71 

terian  clergyman,  the  Moderator,  sat  in  a  chair  on  an 
elevated  dais,  like  the  chairman  of  a  public  meeting, 
attended  by  a  secretary,  who  sat  in  a  seat  beside  him. 
There  are  no  people  who  can  more  seriously  and  ade- 
quately discuss  a  vital  question  than  the  members  of 
the  General  Assembly.  It  was  therefore  with  regret 
that  I  found  that  the  discussion  in  progress  when  I 
entered  was  of  an  unimportant  nature.  But,  perhaps, 
for  that  reason  I  carried  away  a  truer  insight  into  the 
Assembly's  working  than  if  some  great  public  question 
were  being  debated.  The  conversational  freedom  in 
which  the  speakers  addressed  the  Moderator  impressed 
me  curiously.  There  was  no  oratory,  no  grandiloquence, 
no  perceptible  pretence  of  any  description.  The  men 
were  speaking  as  if  they  were  at  home,  and  as  if  they 
were  really  getting  their  thoughts  out.  The  Moderator 
was  not  addressed  as  if  he  were  superhuman  ;  but 
the  utmost  respect  was  paid  to  his  rulings  and  to  his 
position—  that  highest  species  of  respect  which  can  only 
emanate  from  rational,  free  people.  Presbyterians  of 
wealth  and  of  social  distinction  were  sitting  down  in  a 
casual  way  with  their  brother  Presbyterians,  no  differ- 
ence whatever  being  made  between  the  members.  I 
saw  no  deference  paid  to  money  and  rank  ;  but  I  saw  the 
highest  respect  shown  to  those  who  were  described  to 
me  as  men  of  proved  personal  worth.  I  saw  no  special 
seats  for  the  rich,  and  dark  corners  for  the  poor.  Every 
man  in  that  church  got  the  same  accommodation ;  was 
equally  free,  and  equally  fearless.  An  elderly  clergy- 
man, to  whom  I  was  introduced  while  the  discussion 
was  going  on,  spoke  to  me  just  as  if  we  were  in  a  public 
assembly,  to  which  nothing  of  a  religious  character 
attached.  There  was  no  awe,  no  mystery,  no  super- 
natural powers  supposed  to  be  resident  in  any  of  the 
fixtures  of  the  building,   or  in  any  of   its  occupants. 


72  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

He  beckoned  to  a  member  of  tbe  Assembly,  sitting  in  a 
distant  pew,  who  thereupon  came  across  to  us,  and  the 
clergyman  introduced  him  to  me  as  the  Right  Honour- 
able   .     Many  others  were  introduced  to  me  in  the 

friendliest  way.  Meantime  I  was  much  interested  in 
the  discussion  which  happened  to  be  going  on.  The 
question  was  whether  the  General  Assembly  should 
interfere ;  or,  as  it  was  expressed,  should  "  legislate  "  for 
the  prevention  of  juvenile  smoking.  The  debate  was 
maintained  heartily,  openly,  good-humouredly,  fear- 
lessly, to  the  amazement  of  me,  a  mystified  Roman 
Catholic.  I  should  advise  some  of  the  advanced  Roman 
Catholics  in  Belfast  to  attend  for  half-an-hour  at  a. 
meeting  of  the  General  Assembly,  and  discover  there- 
from what  it  is  we  lay  folk  really  lack.  They  may  learn 
at  the  General  Assembly  where  the  Presbyterian  gets 
his  courage ;  where  the  Catholic  gets  his  cowardice. 

It  seems  impossible  to  damp  the  ardour  of  a  Presby- 
terian. I  have  known  one  or  two  instances  in  Dublin 
where  Presbyterians  failed  in  a  particular  branch  of 
business  through  adverse  circumstances  over  which  they 
had  no  control.  And  I  observed,  during  their  time  of 
difficulty,  what  a  brave  face  they  showed  to  the  world. 
Not  for  an  instant  were  they  broken  in  heart  or  spirit. 
No  man  meeting  them  in  the  street  would  believe  what 
I  knew  to  be  the  case,  namely,  that  they  were  in  severe 
trouble,  mental  and  pecuniary.  I  saw  those  men  start 
at  once  in  some  other  line  of  business,  and  go  on  working 
for  their  living  as  if  no  misfortune  had  befallen  them. 
Such  pluck  is  sadly  lacking  amongst  us  Catholics. 

I  received  a  visit  from  a  Catholic  some  time  ago 
whom  I  had  not  seen  for  years.  He  was  in  the  most 
doleful  frame  of  mind,  and  could  scarcely  get  his  tongue 
to  speak.  He  was  a  professional  man,  and  he  told  me 
that  business  was  so  bad  in  his  native  town  that  he  had 


AFRAID  OF  LIFE  73 

closed  up  his  professional  residence  and  come  up  to  seek 
work  of  any  description,  provided  there  were  a  fixed 
wage  attached  to  it.  I  never  saw  a  man  in  a  more 
tremulous  condition  of  fright.  I  was  surprised,  for  his 
parents  were  well-to-do;  and,  at  their  death,  had  left 
him  something,  besides  having  given  him  his  profes- 
sion. He  had  been  educated  entirely  at  a  priest's  board- 
inor  school.     I  said  that,  beinar  a  single  man,  he  had 

O  '00' 

nothing  to  fear ;  that  he  should  not  contemplate  sur- 
rendering his  independence,  or  giving  up  his  profession. 
He  interrupted  me  in  a  halting  fashion,  saying :  "  But, 
hut  I  am  married  !  "  It  was  the  first  I  had  heard  of  it, 
but  it  appears  he  had  been  married  for  a  couple  of 
years,  and  felt  keenly  the  pinch  of  having  to  keep 
house.  He  had  no  children,  and  added  that  it  was  a 
fortunate  circumstance.  Unmarried  he  had  been  able  to 
keep  himself  in  indolent  comfort,  and  make  an  outside 
show.  But  now  he  was  like  a  galled  jade.  Alarmed  at 
the  prospect  of  a  life  of  struggle,  he  had  closed  up  his 
house,  and,  though  he  was  not  in  debt,  left  his  native 
town,  and  had  decided  to  abandon  his  profession,  and 
was  eager  to  take  service  of  any  kind  for  a  certain 
salary  !  He  said  that  a  Regular  priest  had  offered  him 
a  letter  of  introduction  to  the  members  of  his  Order 
in  another  town  if  he  were  inclined  to  start  anew  in  a 
strange  place.  His  despair  was  great  indeed  ;  but  his 
case  is  only  one  out  of  thousands  which  go  to  show  the 
want  of  moral  stamina  in  the  priest-smitten  Catholic. 
I  could  not  imagine  a  young  Presbyterian  or  Episco- 
palian or  Methodist  professional  man,  in  good  health  and 
in  possession  of  all  his  faculties,  behaving  thus.  The 
Presbyterian's  ancestors  who  so  often  crossed  the  Scot- 
tish border  in  arms,  and  invaded  England,  and  who  woke 
up  the  English  Nonconformists,  and  came  to  their  aid 
in  the  great  struggle  of  the  Civil  War — and  who  might 


74  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

have  then  had  the  religious  supremacy  of  England  for 
the  taking,  if  they  were  imbued  with  the  lust  of  power 
— displayed  all  the  pluck  in  the  field  of  battle  which 
the  Presbyterian  of  to-day  shows  in  the  commercial 
and  professional  walks  of  life.  Yet  one  never  hears  a 
Presbyterian  boasting  of  his  ancestors.  While  we,  whose 
ancestors  left  us  only  a  heritage  of  failure  and  disgrace, 
are  ever  harking  back  to  the  past ;  for  bad  as  that  was, 
we  feel  that  it  was  better  than  our  present  condition. 

But  to  resume.  It  was  proposed  that  the  Assembly 
should  pass  a  law  prohibiting  smoking  amongst  young 
Presbyterians,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  injurious  to 
health.  Imagine  my  amazement,  I  bred  in  an  atmos- 
phere of  priestly  mystery  and  sententiousness,  when  a 
clergyman  arose  close  beside  me,  and,  addressing  the 
Moderator  in  a  strain  of  droll  earnestness,  said  he 
would  be  no  party  to  any  "  legislation  "  condemning  or 
preventing  juvenile  smoking.  His  words  were  to  this 
effect :  "  How  can  I  prevent  a  boy  from  smoking  when 
I  smoke  myself?  I  won't  give  up  smoking  for  the 
General  Assembly  or  for  any  other  power;  and,  if  I 
do  not  give  up  smoking  myself,  I  cannot  see  my  way 
to  preventing  the  boys  of  my  parish  from  smoking,  if 
they  so  will.  How  could  I  produce  a  pipe  and  light 
it  in  the  presence  of  the  public  or  of  my  friends,  when 
I  had  just  been  snatching  a  cigarette,  perhaps,  out  of  a 
wee  boy's  mouth,  and  denouncing  him  for  smoking  it  as 
if  he  had  been  guilty  of  a  crime  ?  And  what  I  cannot 
do  in  public  I  will  not  do  in  private.  For,  if  it  be 
wrong  to  smoke,  it  is  as  wrong  to  smoke  in  private  as  in 
public ;  and  I  have  no  notion  of  hunting  the  wee  boys 
all  over  the  town,  trying  to  take  cigarettes  from  them 
when  I  see  them  smoking  at  the  street  corners ;  and 
then,  maybe,  lighting  my  own  pipe  the  next  minute." 

The  balance  of  sage  opinion  in  the  Assembly  con- 


THE   PRESBYTERIANS  75 

demned  the  evils  of  juvenile  smoking  ;  but  the  humour 
and  outspokenness  of  the  speech  I  have  paraphrased 
impressed  me  deeply.  Such  candour  is  never  heard 
from  our  Roman  Catholic  priests,  who,  by  the  exigencies 
of  their  position,  are  posturers  eternally  trying  to  appear 
supernatural,  and  ending  by  being  unnatural ;  ever 
holding  themselves  in,  afraid  lest  they  should  give 
themselves  away,  fearful  lest  the  observant  laity  should 
detect  a  flaw  in  their  miraculous  armour. 

Other  speakers  followed,  some  in  favour  of  prevent- 
ing juvenile  smoking  and  others  against  it,  and  the 
result  was,  as  well  as  I  can  remember,  that  no  action 
was  then  taken.  Were  a  deputation  of  lay  Catholics 
to  visit  the  General  Assembly  and  listen  to  its  proceed- 
ings for  an  hour  or  two,  they  would  leave  the  build- 
ing convinced  that  the  management  of  Church  affairs 
amongst  us  Catholics  is  altogether  wrong ;  and  they 
would  be  forced  to  the  conclusion,  which  I  have  long 
since  come  to,  that  the  most  effective  way  to  develop 
the  character  of  a  Christian  man  in  a  Christian  state, 
is  to  give  him  an  authoritative  voice  in  the  control  of 
his  Church,  and  of  everything  educational  and  charit- 
able appertaining  thereto.  He  will  then  feel  that  he 
is  a  living  member  of  Christ's  brotherhood  on  earth, 
instead  of  being  a  voiceless  slave,  ever  doubting,  ever 
mystified,  ever  fearful,  over  whose  head  all  the  busi- 
ness of  Christian  economy  is  transacted  as  if  he  were 
a  worm. 

I  dined  with  an  ex-Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly, 
a  clergyman  of  means,  unattached  to  any  particular 
church  district,  the  Rev.  David  Arnott  Taylor,  D.D., 
and  there  were  two  or  three  Presbyterian  clergymen 
present.  Other  Presbyterian  clergymen  came  in  after 
dinner.  Freedom  of  discourse,  buoyancy,  heartiness, 
and   hope,   characterised  those  men.     They  were  not 


76  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

constrained  by  the  presence  of  Dr.  Taylor,  though  he 
was  an  ex-Moderator,  and  though,  in  the  capacity  of 
Moderator,  he  had  dined  with  the  Queen,  when  she  was 
here  in  Ireland,  One  Presbyterian  clergyman  does 
not  expect  another  to  be  afraid  of  him.  As  far  as  I 
can  see,  and  to  put  the  matter  in  a  nutshell,  the  Presby- 
terians seem  to  strive  to  be  Christian  brethren  in  what 
they  believe  to  be  the  true  and  practical  sense  of  the 
words.  Their  hopefulness  is  great ;  deep  is  their  belief 
in  the  efficacy  of  Christ's  death  on  the  cross ;  they 
bring  that  hope  and  faith  and  charity  into  every  in- 
cident and  venture  of  their  lives ;  and  the  result  is 
good  conduct,  and  that  help  from  God  which  self-help 
always  brings.  Their  clergymen  are  for  them  only 
brothers  in  Christ,  set  apart  to  do  special  work  con- 
nected with  the  Church,  and  remunerated  for  so  doing ; 
having  a  special  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures,  and  re- 
spected for  that  special  knowledge ;  leading  lives  of 
edification  and  good  example,  and  respected  according 
to  the  probity  of  their  lives.  Profession  without  prac- 
tice will  not  satisfy  the  Presbyterian.  No  Presbyterian 
clergyman  who  is  a  bad  man  would  be  tolerated.  Vice 
cannot  take  shelter  behind  the  stock  and  collar  of  a 
man  whose  life  is  open  to  the  light  of  day,  and  who 
works  no  miracles,  which,  in  the  eyes  of  his  congrega- 
tion, can  atone  for  personal  lapses  from  right  conduct. 
Neither  drunkenness,  nor  ill-temper,  nor  tyranny,  nor 
uncharitableness,  nor  immorality,  would  be  condoned  in 
a  clergyman  by  any  Presbyterian  congregation. 

The  Presbyterian  clergyman  only  bases  his  claim  to 
respect  on  his  attention  to  duty,  on  the  edification  of 
his  life,  and  the  superior  knowledge  of  Christian  matters 
which  he  possesses.  And  the  method  of  his  selection 
is  calculated  to  make  him  popular  with  his  parishioners. 
When  a  vacancy  occurs  in  a  Presbyterian  parish,  a  de- 


POPULAR  CHURCH  GOVERNMENT        77 

putation  of  elders  formally  visits  several  of  the  neigh- 
bouring churches,  and  they  elicit  the  general  opinion 
of  the  laity  as  to  the  clergymen  in  those  churches.  Or, 
perhaps,  the  parish  has  already  made  up  its  mind  as  to 
its  new  minister.  The  deputation  hears  the  clergymen 
preaching  from  their  own  pulpits.  If  they  are  satisfied 
that  any  of  those  clergymen  combines  all  the  qualifica- 
tions they  desire  in  a  minister  for  their  parish,  they 
select  that  clergyman ;  and,  if  he  consents  to  be  their 
minister,  they  give  him  a  "  call "  to  their  parish.  Ever 
afterwards  they  look  upon  him  as  their  own  free  choice 
and  loyally  support  him. 

Would  it  not  be  a  happy  state  of  affairs  for  us  if  we 
were  entrusted  in  our  Church  with  such  power  as  that 
in  the  selection  of  parish  priests  ?  Would  it  not  be 
well  for  us  Catholics  if  the  condition  of  our  Church 
were  such  that  it  would  bear  the  test  of  an  open  dis- 
cussion of  its  affairs  by  clerics  and  laymen  every  year, 
such  as  we  see  in  the  Episcopal  and  Presbyterian 
Churches  of  Ireland  ?  How  brave  and  self-confident 
the  lay  Catholics  attending  such  an  Assembly  would 
feel  when  they  left  its  deliberations  !  Religion  and 
Christ's  simple,  heart-stirring  teaching  would  become 
for  them  a  strengthening  force  in  life,  instead  of  a 
mystifying  and  disheartening  force. 

The  more  advanced  Roman  Catholics  of  Belfast 
should  not  be  content  with  the  position  they  occupy 
in  their  native  city  under  the  rule  of  their  priests. 
Tlieir  importance  is  steadily  decreasing.  In  1 86 1  they 
were  34  per  cent.,  or  over  one-third  of  the  population 
of  Belfast ;  in  1 8  7 1  they  were  only  3  2  per  cent. ;  in 
1 88 1  they  were  only  28.8  percent.;  in  1 891,  26.3  per 
cent. ;  and  m  1901  they  are  only  24  per  cent.,  or  con- 
siderably under  one-fourth  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  city. 


CHAPTER  V 

A    LITTLE    WHILE    IN    THE    NORTH 

"  But  Deny  had  a  surer  guard 

Than  all  that  art  could  lend  her  : 
Her  'prentice  hearts  the  gate  who  barred, 
And  sung  out  'No  surrender  !'  " 

— Colonel  Blackbb. 

One  who  is  intimately  acquainted  with  the  Roman 
Catholic  portion  of  Ireland  cannot  fail  to  be  struck 
by  what  he  sees  in  the  country  around  Belfast.  For 
instance,  in  Protestant  Antrim,  even  if  one  goes  no 
farther  than  the  well-known  route  from  Belfast  to  Larne, 
one  may  realise  what  all  Ireland  would  be  if  it  were 
emancipated  from  the  priestly  spells.  The  Northern 
Counties  Railway  is  essentially  a  northern  institution, 
being  entirely  confined  to  the  counties  of  Antrim  and 
Derry.  Although  one  of  the  smallest  lines  in  Ireland, 
it  is  as  well  managed  as  the  largest,  and  pays  the  highest 
dividends.  Its  terminus  at  Belfast  reminds  one  of  an 
English  railway  station;  well-designed,  altogether  bright, 
and  built  all  through  to  meet  the  convenience  of  the 
public.  When  you  emerge  from  Belfast,  and,  as  you 
move  along  the  shore  of  Belfast  Lough,  you  cannot  help 
being  struck  by  the  orderly  and  prosperous  appearance 
of  the  country.  The  rolling-stock  of  the  railway  attracts 
you  ;  long  goods  trains  are  moving  about,  conveying 
merchandise  between  the  various  Antrim  and  Derry 
towns.  The  stations  are  pretty,  and  on  every  platform 
there  is  evidence  of  local  life,  independence,  character, 

and  prosperity.     The  country  houses  that  come  within 

78 


MR.   CHAINE   OF  LARNE  79 

view  are  pleasant  to  look  upon.  After  a  while  you  can 
scarcely  believe  that  you  are  in  Ireland.  When  you 
have  passed  by  Carrickfergus,  and  arrive  at  Whitehead, 
near  the  head  of  Larne  Lough,  the  train  runs  along  by 
the  shore  of  the  lough,  and  you  get  a  good  view  of  the 
peninsula,  known  as  Island  Magee,  across  the  water, 
which  looks  like  a  mere  cockspur  on  the  maps,  but 
which  is  in  reality  a  tine  stretch  of  land,  cultivated 
with  the  greatest  economy  and  energy.  There  is  no 
waste,  there  is  no  poverty,  on  Island  Magee.  As  you 
get  close  to  Larne  you  remark  that  there  are  no  con- 
vents, parochial  houses,  or  even  church  sphes  to  be 
seen.  If  you  chance  to  meet  a  parson,  he  is  not  better 
off  than  his  Hock ;  he  is  not  their  master ;  he  is  their 
equal  and  their  friend.  The  town  of  Larne,  at  which 
you  arrive,  is  a  thriving  place,  containing  a  population 
of  7000  people.  There  is  not  a  tumble-down  house  to 
be  seen  in  it ;  and  it  is  expanding.  The  roads  and 
footways  are  so  well  kept,  and  the  houses  so  solidly 
comfortable,  that  in  walking  through  its  streets  I  found 
it  hard  to  believe  that  I  was  in  Ireland.  When  I 
arrived  at  Larne  Harbour,  which  is  some  distance  below 
the  town,  and  stood  on  the  deck  of  one  of  the  splendid 
mail-packet  steamers  which  ply  between  Larne  and 
the  Scotch  coast,  I  looked  around  for  spires,  convents, 
parochial  houses,  nun-managed  hospitals,  reformatories, 
and  industrial  schools,  which  we  are  so  accustomed  to 
in  the  midlands  and  south  and  west  of  Ireland.  But 
the  only  noticeable  object  which  I  could  discern  amidst 
the  comfort  of  Larne  was  the  aluminium  factory.  And 
near  the  town  there  was  a  magnificent  house,  which  was 
not  an  ecclesiastical  structure,  or  a  jail,  or  a  union 
workhouse,  but  the  residence  of  a  Larne  gentleman 
named  Chaine ;  an  ordinary  layman,  who  was  neither 
a  count  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  nor  chamberlain  to 


8o  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

his  Holiness,  nor  a  kniglit  of  St,  Gregory,  nor  a  senator  of 
the  Royal  University,  nor  a  commissioner  of  national 
education,  nor  anything  else  which  either  implied  a  pay- 
ment of  money  to  Italy,  or  entitled  him  to  put  his  hand 
into  the  pocket  of  the  nation.  And  I  saw  a  monument 
standing  at  the  water-gate  of  Larne,  the  entrance  to  the 
harbour,  built  in  the  form  of  an  Irish  round  tower, 
beside  which  the  mail-packets  pass  on  their  way  to 
and  from  Scotland ;  and  I  discovered  that  this  monu- 
ment was  not  a  religious  monument,  that  there  was  no 
mystery  connected  with  it,  that  it  was  not  erected  to 
a  cardinal,  or  a  politician,  or  an  orator,  or  a  disturber 
of  the  public  peace,  but  that  it  was  a  monument  put 
up  by  Mr.  Chaine  of  Larne,  at  his  own  expense,  to  per- 
petuate his  own  memory  in  his  native  town,  to  the 
advancement  of  which  he  had  devoted  his  time,  his 
labours,  and  his  money  generously.  And  I  was  shown 
on  the  hillside  overlooking  this  monument  the  place 
where  the  remains  of  Mr.  Chaine  lie,  gazing  down  in 
spirit  upon  the  harbour  of  Larne,  which  was  the  crown- 
ing glory  of  his  life.  And  then  I  remembered  the 
residence  where  his  son  lives,  honoured  by  his  towns- 
men, both  for  his  own  and  for  his  father's  sake,  and  I 
said  to  myself.  That  is  practical  patriotism;  the  spirit 
of  Mr.  Chaine  explains  why  Larne  is  prosperous.  It 
explains  why  Antrim  is  so  superior  to  the  Catholic 
counties  in  other  parts  of  Ireland.  The  Larne  people — 
and  the  same  may  be  said  of  all  the  Antrim  people — in 
their  various  degrees,  are  all  permeated  with  the  spirit 
which  Mr.  Chaine  displayed  during  his  life.  They  are 
anxious  for  the  prosperity  of  their  town  and  harbour;  and, 
in  order  to  secure  that  prosperity,  they  lead  industrious, 
useful,  and  good  lives.  The  Pope  of  Rome  and  Cardinal 
Ledochowski  may  devote  themselves,  if  they  will,  to 
supernatural  business ;  the  Larne  people  will  mind  their 


THE   IDEAL   OF   LARNE  8i 

natural  business,  and  will  not  be  interfered  with.  Belief 
in  all  the  grand  facts  of  Christianity  does  not  prevent 
the  Larne  people  from  being  sensible,  self-respecting, 
industrious,  and  comfortable.  The  simple  creed  of 
Christianity  does  not  compel  the  Larne  people  to  sup- 
port a  rich,  expensive  priesthood,  and  a  large  male 
and  female  clerical  army  to  keep  them  in  subjection,  to 
interfere  in  every  affair  of  their  lives,  to  retard  their 
progress,  misdirect  the  minds  of  their  children,  and  rob 
them  of  the  fruits  of  their  industry.  The  local  man 
who  benefits  Larne,  who  lives,  makes  money,  and  dies 
in  the  town,  and  who,  after  death,  places  his  tomb  and 
monument  in  the  midst  of  his  people,  is  the  precedent 
which  the  Larne  people  have  constantly  before  their 
eyes  to  follow.  Their  ideal  is  not  the  example  of  the 
prolix  orator,  who  sends  his  heart  to  Rome  and  his 
body  to  Ireland ;  or  the  achievements  of  the  bombastic 
bishop,  who  is  singing  the  glories  of  his  own  Roman 
ecclesiastical  colleague  and  superior  from  year's  end  to 
year's  end,  for  the  mystification  of  the  soft  Irish. 

I  never  felt  more  happy  in  Ireland  than  I  did  in 
Protestant  Larne.  It  was  not  the  beauty  of  the  place, 
though  that  is  considerable,  and  the  air  exceedingly 
bracing.  Beauty  does  not  satisfy  me,  for  I  never  felt 
so  depressed  anywhere  in  Ireland  as  I  have  done  in  our 
own  Roman  Catholic  Killarney,  with  all  its  incompar- 
able beauties.  I  felt  happy,  because  in  Larne  reality 
and  truth  are  omnipresent,  and  falsehood  and  pretence 
are  nowhere  obtrusive ;  and  because  I  saw  the  natural 
resources  of  my  country  being  utilised  and  enjoyed  by 
a  happy,  contented,  and  increasing  population.  Even 
in  Belfast  the  pleasure  is  not  so  unalloyed,  for  there 
one  has  the  spectacle  of  one's  fellow-religionists — the 
Roman  Catholics  of  that  city — in  a  position  of  back- 
ward   subordination,  while  they  foolishly  expend  tens 


82  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

of  thousands  of  pounds  in  enricliing  their  priesthood, 
and  increasing  their  male  and  female  clerical  army. 
To  look  upon  Island  Magee  across  the  water,  and  to 
dwell  upon  its  small,  well-fenced  fields,  farms,  and 
farmsteads,  is  restful  to  the  eye  of  the  Irishman  with 
an  asking  mind.  Here  at  length  one  beholds  peace  in 
Ireland.  Here  at  length  one  sees  all  the  goods  which 
God  provides  for  Ireland  being  used  by  the  people  in 
the  way  in  which  God  intended  them  to  be  used. 

How  different  the  emotions  are  as  one  stands  on  the 
shores  of  Queenstown  Harbour !  There  all  the  wealth 
of  natural  position  and  natural  advantages  which 
Providence  has  placed  at  the  disposal  of  our  people 
are  crumbling  like  Dead  Sea  fruit  in  their  hands. 
There  is  no  evidence  of  the  Corkonian's  energy  but  the 
Queenstown  Cathedral ;  and  the  greatest  man  on  the 
shores  of  Queenstown  Harbour  is  the  Catholic  Bishop 
of  Cloyne.  He  alone  has  money ;  he  alone  has  power  ; 
while  the  majority  of  the  lay  people  are  depressed,  idle, 
and  impoverished. 

In  Larne  the  people  are  happy,  contented,  and  com- 
fortable, although  they  do  not  enjoy  the  luxury  of  a 
Roman  Catholic  bishop  to  perplex  by  his  interference 
the  working  of  their  minds  or  the  conduct  of  their 
affairs. 

Antrim  is  a  glorious  county.  It  contains  709,832 
acres,  of  which  576,604  are  in  tillage  and  pasture.  It 
is  not  devoid  of  waste  land,  for  there  are  127,517  acres 
described  as  waste,  bog  and  mountain.  The  population 
of  the  county  is  46 1,241, of  which  1 1  3,383  are  Catholics. 
Besides  the  greater  portion  of  the  city  of  Belfast,  the 
county  contains  the  important  towns  of  Lisburn,  which 
has  a  population  of  11,500,  Ballymena,  Carrickfergus, 
Larne,  Ligoniel,  and  Ballymoney ;  and  seven  smaller 
towns,  having  a  population  between  1000  and  2000. 


Lawri-nci: 

TiiK  Ql'eenstown  Cathedral  overlooks  a  Deserted  IIarbgur 

"There  is  no  evidence  of  the  Corkonian's  energy  but  the  Queenstown  Cathedral ;  and  the  greatest 
man  on  the  shores  of  Queenstown  Harbour  is  the  Catholic  Bishop  of  Cloyne  "  (p.  82). 


I 


IN   COUNTY  DOWN  83 

The  prosperity  of  Antrim  is  to  be  entirely  ascribed  to 
Protestant  energy  and  Protestant  freedom,  for  the  land 
is  not  a  whit  better  than  the  soil  of  Cork  or  Wexford. 
The  county  is  almost  entirely  free  from  the  priest. 
There  is  not  a  single  Catholic  religious  institution  or 
convent  outside  the  neighbourhood  of  Belfast  except 
the  "  industrial "  school  kept  by  the  Sisters  of  Mercy 
at  White  Abbey,  which  stands  like  a  blot  upon  the  fair 
scenery  of  that  district,  and  the  Convent  of  the  Sacred 
Heart  of  Mary  at  Lisburn,  which  receives  a  grant  from 
the  National  Board  of  Education,  and  in  which  it  is 
admitted  there  are  twenty-four  nuns. 

The  county  of  Down  is  in  every  sense  of  the  word  as 
fine  a  county  as  Antrim,  and  it  is  just  as  Protestant, 
containing  only  76,535  Catholics  out  of  a  total  popula- 
tion of  289,535.  It  contains  an  important  portion  of 
the  city  of  Belfast,  and  a  number  of  thriving  towns,  in 
many  of  which  extensive  manufactures  are  carried  on. 
Newtownards,  Banbridge,  Downpatrick,  Holywood, 
Bangor,  Dromore,  Comber ;  and  eight  towns  contain- 
ing a  population  of  between  1000  and  2000;  besides  a 
number  of  prosperous  villages ;  are  sprinkled  over  this 
fine  county.  Its  total  acreage  is  6 1 2,399,  of  which  only 
80,056  acres  are  returned  as  waste,  bog  and  mountain. 
The  land  is  in  the  highest  state  of  cultivation,  and  the 
people  are  industrious  and  contented.  It  contains  on 
its  western  border  the  town  of  Newry,  which  I  deal 
with  elsewhere.  With  the  exception  of  Newry  and  its 
immediate  neighbourhood,  the  county  of  Down  is  free 
from  religious  institutions  and  convents,  save  for  the 
Convent  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  at  Downpatrick,  which 
receives  a  grant  from  the  National  Board  of  Education, 
and  the  admitted  number  of  whose  nuns  is  twenty. 

If  one  travels  southwards  into  Down  from  Belfast  as 
far  as  Newtownards,  at  the  head  of  Strangford  Lough, 


84  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

or  Donagliadee,  or  Newcastle,  one  finds  a  peaceful 
agricultural  country,  full  of  small  farms,  and  tilled  with 
the  greatest  energy  and  industry.  The  Ards  Peninsula, 
somewhat  like  Island  Magee,  but  on  a  larger  scale, 
is  full  of  beautiful  land,  cultivated  by  small  farmers  to 
the  highest  pitch  of  excellence.  Like  Antrim,  Down 
possesses  no  greater  natural  advantages  than,  say,  Cork 
and  Limerick,  or  Wexford  and  Kilkenny,  yet  Antrim 
and  Down  are  prosperous  beyond  all  the  other  counties 
in  Ireland.  They  alone,  with  the  exception  of  the 
metropolitan  county  of  Dublin,  have  increased  in  popu- 
lation. There  is  an  amount  of  civic  and  social  life  in 
Antrim  and  Down  which  is  not  to  be  found  anywhere 
else  in  Ireland.  There,  notwithstanding  the  democratic 
sturdiness  of  the  people,  their  industry  and  prosperity, 
you  will  find  a  resident  nobility  living  on  the  most 
friendly  terms  with  the  people.  The  Marquis  of 
Londonderry  lives  quite  close  to  Newtownards.  And 
he  is  regarded  as  a  fellow-countryman  by  everybody  in 
the  county  Down.  Whenever  he  comes  there  he  is 
welcomed,  and  nothing  that  he  can  do  for  the  prosperity 
of  his  neighbours  is  left  undone.  The  student  of  Irish 
sociology  may  learn  from  this  that  even  the  Irish 
system  of  land  tenure  does  not  of  necessity  mean 
personal  enmity  and  discordance  of  interests  between 
the  tenantry  and  the  lord  of  the  soil. 

The  Marquis  of  Dufferin  also  lived — and  died — in 
the  Ards  Peninsula,  and  found  the  neighbourhood  such 
a  pleasant  one  that  he  resided  there  constantly  after  a 
long  life  spent  in  all  the  luxury  and  vivacity  of  the 
highest  society  in  all  parts  of  the  world. 

In  Down  or  Antrim  a  man  finds  himself  in  touch 
with  the  heart  of  the  world ;  he  can  go  to  England  at 
a  moment's  notice,  and  without  trouble ;  everything  he 
requires  is  to  be  had  in  his  immediate  vicinity. 


SOCIAL  LIFE   IN   ULSTER  85 

In  the  other  and  Roman  Catholic  parts  of  Ireland 
there  is  no  such  civic  or  social  life  ;  the  higher  and 
the  lower  classes  do  not  look  upon  each  other  as  neigh- 
bours. The  priest,  in  sullen  isolation,  with  his  occult 
powers  and  niysterious  deportment,  intensifies  the 
estrangement.  He  himself  belongs  to  the  lower  classes, 
but  he  disowns  his  own  people,  and  the  higher  classes 
will  not  have  him  on  his  own  valuation  of  himself. 
He  finds  himself  isolated  ;  he  becomes  a  tyrant,  and 
appears  to  take  an  uncharitable  delight  in  setting  the 
different  classes  of  society  at  cross  purposes.  If  a  rich 
nobleman  resides  permanently  in  the  rest  of  Ireland, 
except,  perhaps,  in  the  vicinity  of  Dublin,  life  is  not 
made  comfortable  or  interesting  for  him  by  his  neigh- 
bours. There  is  no  vitality  in  the  country  to  make 
residence  in  it  agreeable  for  persons  of  means.  If  the 
Duke  of  Devonshire's  Irish  residence,  instead  of  being 
at  Lismore,  were  on  the  banks  of  the  Bann,  or  on  the 
shores  of  Strangford  Lough,  or  Lough  Neagh,  Ave  should 
find  him  continually  resident  amongst  us.  His  coming 
and  going  would  be  looked  upon  as  a  thing  of  course. 
His  neighbours  would  be  glad  to  see  him,  and  the 
country  would  be  made  pleasant  for  him.  Instead  of 
that,  we  rarely  see  that  great  landowner  amongst  us, 
and  his  case  is  typical  of  many  others. 

Blind,  indeed,  must  be  the  Irishman  who  will  per- 
sist in  attributing  the  want  of  prosperity  in  Catholic 
Ireland  to  the  operation  of  British-made  laws,  seeing 
that  the  laws  in  operation  in  Antrim  and  Down  are  the 
same  as  those  in  Wexford  and  Kilkenny,  or  in  Cork 
and  Limerick,  or  in  Mayo  and  Roscommon.  The  ex- 
planation of  northern  prosperity  is  to  be  found  in  the 
character  of  the  people,  who  are  self-helpful  and  free 
in  body  as  in  mind.  In  the  rest  of  Ireland  the  char- 
acter of  the  people  is  moulded  by  our  Roman  Catholic 


86  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

priests,  who  have  supreme  control  over  our  youth  in 
the  schools,  and  who  by  word  and  example  persistently 
influence  the  adult  population.  Our  priest  is  mendi- 
cant, he  is  leisurely,  wealthy,  and  prosperous.  There- 
fore the  bulk  of  the  population  set  idleness  before  them 
as  the  summum  honum  of  life,  and  they  are  not  ashamed 
to  have  recourse  to  mendicancy  at  every  stage  of  then* 
existence  in  various  shapes  and  forms. 

In  the  North,  idleness  is  never  looked  upon  as  an 
ideal  condition  of  things.  Mr.  Robinson,  or  Mr.  Cleaver, 
in  Belfast,  at  the  present  moment,  are  working  as  hard 
as  they  were  forty  years  ago,  despite  the  fact  that  the 
business  of  Messrs.  Robinson  &  Cleaver  is  spread  all 
over  the  United  Kingdom  and  all  over  the  world. 

And  as  for  mendicancy,  it  never  enters  into  the  mind 
of  a  respectable  North  of  Ireland  man  to  have  recourse 
to  it.  He  works  his  way,  and  rests  content  with  what 
the  labour  of  his  brain  and  hands  may  win  for  him. 

I  have  driven  almost  through  the  entire  of  the  large 
central  Ulster  county  of  Tyrone,  from  the  borders  of 
Fermanagh  to  the  confines  of  Derry  and  Antrim. 
What  a  fine  county  it  is,  containing  806,658  acres, 
and  a  population  of  i  50,468.  I  have  been  in  its  four 
important  towns,  Strabane,  Omagh,  Dungannon,  and 
Cookstown,  and  in  many  of  its  smaller  towns  and  vil- 
lages. The  religion  of  the  33,479  families  who  dwell 
in  Tyrone  is  mixed.  The  southern  and  western  area 
of  the  county  contains  a  large  proportion  of  Roman 
Catholics,  while  the  northern  and  eastern  sides  are 
mostly  inhabited  by  Protestants,  there  being  in  the 
county  about  70,000  members  of  the  Reformed  Church, 
and  80,000  Catholics,  Everywhere  in  Tyrone  you  will 
find  the  members  of  the  Reformed  Church  better  off, 
more  industrious  and  contented  than  our  people,  who, 
instead    of  making  the  most   of    their  opportunities. 


TYRONE  AND  LONDONDERRY  87 

expend  themselves  in  glorifying  the  priesthood  and 
indulging  in  religious  anaesthetics  under  their  direction. 
Tyrone  is  fortunate  in  containing  no  settlements  of 
male  religious  orders  ;  but  it  has  three  convents  of 
Sisters  of  Mercy  at  Cookstown,  Dungannon,  and  Stra- 
bane,  all  drawing  grants  from  the  National  Board  ;  and 
a  Loreto  Convent  at  Omagh. 

The  Sisters  of  Mercy  at  Strabane  have  collected 
together  73  little  vagrant  girls,  for  whose  support  they 
draw  ^12  J  8,  17s.  lod.  per  annum  from  the  State. 

The  county  of  Derry  is,  happily  for  itself,  exception- 
ally free  from  religious  orders.  It  possesses  a  Roman 
Catholic  bishop  and  cathedral,  and  a  number  of  secular 
priests  ;  a  convent  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  the  admitted 
number  of  professed  nuns  in  which  is  38,  and  which 
draws  a  grant  from  the  National  Board  of  Education  ; 
and  also  a  convent  of  the  Poor  Sisters  of  Nazareth. 
Outside  the  city  the  only  religious  institution  is  the 
Convent  of  Mary  Immaculate  at  Magherafelt,  and 
there  is  no  "  industrial  "  school  in  the  county.  The 
population  of  the  county  is  144,404,  of  which  69,089 
are  males  and  75,315  females.  I  have  travelled  along 
the  north  coast  of  Londonderry,  more  than  once 
visited  the  important  and  historic  city,  and  have  found 
the  people  everywhere  prosperous.  If  the  65,296 
Derry  Roman  Catholics  are  more  prosperous  than 
our  brethren  in  the  neighbouring  county  of  Donegal, 
they  have  not  to  be  grateful  for  their  better  circum- 
stances to  the  preaching  of  their  priests,  but  rather 
to  the  exertions  of  the  Protestant  majority  amongst 
whom  they  live.  The  city  of  Derry  possesses  no 
natural  advantages  over  the  Catholic  cities  of  Water- 
ford,  Limerick,  or  Cork,  yet  while  those  places  are 
decreasing  in  population,  civic  importance  and  industry, 
Londonderry  is  constantly  on  the  increase.     In  1881, 


88  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

when  Waterford  stood  at  29,181,  Derry's  population 
was  only  29,162;  in  1901  the  population  of  Deny 
stands  at  40,000,  while  Waterford  to-day  stands  at 
26,743  '  The  town  is  full  of  industry,  and  the  Foyle 
is  full  of  life,  Derry  possesses  extensive  shirt  and 
collar  factories,  shipyards,  mills,  foundries,  and  various 
other  industries.  Its  ancient  history  has  not  prevented 
it  from  keeping  abreast  of  modern  life  and  improve- 
ment. Although  the  Derry  people  are  fond  of  recall- 
ing the  brave  deeds  of  their  ancestors,  they  do  not 
allow  themselves  to  dwell  stagnantly  upon  them  as 
we  Roman  Catholics  do  in  the  south  and  west  of  Ire- 
land. The  citizens  of  Londonderry  are  well  to  the 
front  in  all  the  achievements  and  glories  of  the  United 
Kingdom  and  North  Europe.  There  is  work  done  in 
Derry  which  cannot  be  surpassed  in  any  part  of  the 
world.  In  Derry,  as  in  Antrim  and  Down,  you  find 
our  Irish  duke  living  continually  on  terms  of  friend- 
ship with  his  neighbours  of  all  classes.  The  Duke  of 
Abercorn's  home  is  near  Strabane,  not  in  England  or 
on  the  Continent,  and  his  son,  the  Marquis  of  Hamil- 
ton, represents  the  city  of  Derry  in  Parliament.  If 
one  travels  by  the  northern  coast  eastward  from  Derry, 
in  the  direction  of  Portrush,  you  will  find  an  amount 
of  civic  and  social  life,  independence  and  prosperit}'', 
amongst  the  population  sufficient  to  lead  a  southern 
Irishman  to  suppose  that  he  is  travelling  in  Great 
Britain.  The  resources  of  the  country  are  utilised  by 
its  bright,  healthy,  industrious  and  sensible  inhabitants. 
They  do  not  maintain  a  superhuman,  miracle-working 
priesthood  in  their  midst  to  filch  from  them  the  true 
enjoyment  of  life.  The  results  of  their  industry  are 
not  nullified  for  them  by  the  preaching  and  practice 
of  a  great  sacerdotal  organisation.  The  town  of 
Coleraine,   also  in  county  Derry,  is  a  peaceable   and 


CATHOLIC  DONEGAL  89 

prosperous  town,  and  it  has  an  increasing  population 
of  6845.  The  Bann,  on  which  Coleraine  stands,  Hke 
the  people  who  reside  by  its  banks,  is  one  of  those 
placid  rivers  which  it  does  one  good  to  gaze  upon, 
and  which  seems  quite  out  of  its  place  in  Ireland. 
Standing  by  its  slow,  deep  waters  one  feels  inclined 
to  believe  it  is  the  Trent  or  Derwent.  There  are  no 
rivers  in  Ireland  upon  which  an  Irishman  can  look 
with  such  pleasure  as  the  Bann,  Foyle,  and  Lagan, 
whether  at  Portadown,  Coleraine,  Strabane,  Derry,  Lis- 
burn,  or  Belfast.  And  there  are  no  better  people  in 
Ireland  than  those  who  inhabit  the  country  through 
which  those  rivers  flow. 

If  the  traveller  in  Ulster  moves  westward  from  the 
city  of  Derry  he  finds  himself  quickly  in  a  Catholic 
country,  and  when  he  has  entered  it,  he  bids  good- 
bye to  civic  life,  brightness,  and  worldly  progress. 
The  county  of  Donegal,  which  is  at  the  west  side  of 
Lough  Foyle,  is  almost  entirely  Catholic,  except  where 
it  adjoins  Derry.  Out  of  its  population  of  173,625, 
135,000  are  Catholics;  and  this  large  county,  having 
an  area  of  1,197,1  54  acres,  of  which  700,000  acres  are 
arable,  does  not  contain  a  single  town  which  has  a 
population  over  2  500.  It  is  here  that  Bishop  O'Donnell, 
the  treasurer  of  the  Irish  Parliamentary  party,  has 
reared  aloft  his  costly  and  magnificent  cathedral  at 
Letterkenny,  which  is  the  only  achievement  in  the 
shape  of  work  which  our  poor  people  in  Donegal  can 
put  to  their  credit.  No  towns,  no  industry,  no  hope,  no 
civic  life !  They  spend  their  lives  brooding  upon  St. 
Eunan,  and  staring  in  hypnotised  wonder  at  the  mar- 
vellous goings  on  of  Bishop  O'Donnell.  Whether  at 
Rome,  or  at  the  Killybegs  Industrial  School,  or  the 
County  Asylum  Board,  or  in  his  cathedral  which  their 
pence  erected  for  him  at  Letterkenny,  the  bishop  is  the 


90  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

great  lawgiver  and  dictator.  Poor  Catholics  of  Donegal 
from  Lough  Swilly  to  Mahn  Beg,  you  possess  your 
powerful,  and,  in  many  respects,  your  omnipotent 
priesthood,  to  whom  you  surrender  your  minds — and 
you  have  your  reward  !  The  shade  of  St,  Patrick  on 
his  island-purgatory  in  Lough  Derg,  whither  you  repair 
in  pilgrimage,  or  the  shade  of  Columbkille  at  Gartan, 
is  not  more  out  of  touch  with  European  civilisation  than 
are  you.  If  you  were  inhabitants  of  the  Philippine 
Islands,  under  the  rule  of  the  Spanish  friars,  you  could 
not  be  more  out  of  the  world.  The  people  of  Derry, 
close  beside  you,  are  in  daily  and  intimate  connection 
with  the  doings  of  the  world,  in  whose  work  and  busi- 
ness they  bear  a  manly  part,  while  your  history  is 
written  in  episcopal  letters  like  the  following : — 

"  Letterkenny,  4<A  April  1902. 

"  Dear  Mr.  Webb, — I  have  much  pleasure  in  trans- 
mitting to  you  for  the  Parliamentary  Fund  the  two 
cheques  enclosed  with  this  letter.  Rev.  John  Gavigan, 
P.P.,  Carrigart,  sends  ^13,  7s.  6d.  from  the  parish  of 
Meevagh,  and  Rev.  John  M'Cafferty,  C.C.,  Brockagh, 
£1 5  from  the  parish  of  Glenfin.  Those  generous  sums, 
coming  from  the  outposts  of  East  and  West  Donegal, 
are  made  up  of  the  contributions  of  a  hard-working, 
spirited  'people,  with  their  j^riests  at  their  head. — I  am, 
dear  Mr.  Webb,  very  truly  yours, 

"  *i*  Patrick  O'Donnell."  ^ 

Let  such  a  testimonial  amply  repay  you  for  your  self- 
imposed  condition.  Let  the  348  landholders  and  2035 
non-landholders  amongst  you  who  annually  migrate  to 
seek  work  in  Great  Britain  rest  content  with  knowing 
that  he  considers  you  "  hard-working  and  spirited,  with 
your  priests  at  your  head."     Yes,  they  are  at  your  heads, 

1  Freeman  s  Journal,  April  10,  1902. 


THE  COUNTY  CAVAN  91 

and  on  your  heads,  and  on  your  chests,  and  on  your 
backs,  and  on  your  minds.  They  are  on  top  of  you,  and 
you  carry  them,  oh,  so  patiently,  in  the  hope  that  they 
will  pray  you  out  of  hell  and  into  heaven.  What  of 
O'Donnell  Aboo  ?  At  the  sound  of  what  tocsi7i  does  the 
Clan  Connaill  rally  to-day  ?  Like  sheep  you  gather  to 
be  eaten  or  milked  at  the  clanging  of  the  chimes  in 
Letterkenny  Cathedral.  Who  would  sing  thus  of  you 
now  ? — 

"  Proudly  the  note  of  the  trumpet  is  sounding, 
Loudly  the  war-cries  arise  on  the  gale, 
Fleetly  the  steed  by  Lough  Swilly  is  bounding 

To  join  the  thick  squadrons  in  Saimear's  green  vale."  ^ 

No  pen  could  write  anything  so  heartening  about  you  ! 
The  Marine  "  Industrial "  School  at  Killybegs,  drawing 
;^  1 8  8  2  per  annum  for  its  one  hundred  little  boys ;  or 
the  asylum  at  Letterkenny ;  or  the  new  cathedral,  over 
all  of  which  your  Bishop  O'Donnell  is  omnipotent, 
are  the  highest  watermarks  of  your  civic  life.  The 
"  hackbut  and  battlebrand "  were  preferable  to  such 
ignoble  death  in  life. 

There  are,  as  accurately  as  I  can  gather,  three  dio- 
ceses— Raphoe,  Derry,  and  Clogher — in  the  county  of 
Donegal.  And  they  contain,  within  the  county,  97 
priests,  one  establishment  of  monks,  and  nine  convents 
of  nuns  of  the  various  orders  of  St.  Louis,  Loreto,  and 
the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  the  number  of  whose  inmates  is 
not  given. 

There  remains  one  other  Catholic  county  in  Ulster, 
about  which  I  shall  only  say  a  brief  word,  for  it  obtrudes 
itself  very  little  on  public  notice.  The  county  of  Cavan 
is  a  long,  pear-shaped  county  lying  at  the  bottom  of 
Ulster,  and  belonging  as  much  to  Leinster  as  to  Ulster. 
It  is  full  of  lakes,  over  20,000  acres  of  its  surface  being 

'  "Donegal  War-song,"  by  Michael  J.  M'Cann. 


92  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

under  water.  Its  people  are  shrewd,  but  they  are 
merely  marking  time,  except  when  they  leave  the  land 
and  water  that  is  their  home.  Cavan  has  a  population 
of  9 7, 5 4 1,  of  which  79,026  are  Catholics,  It  constitutes 
the  diocese  of  Kilmore,  except  for  a  small  portion  of 
Fermanagh  and  Leitrim,  and  it  possesses  a  bishop  and 
40  parish  priests;  57  curates;  a  diocesan,  priest-managed 
college ;  an  "  industrial "  school  for  girls,  managed  by 
the  Poor  Clares,  in  which  there  are  79  inmates,  at  a 
cost  of  ;^i  334  a  year  to  the  State;  two  convents  of  Poor 
Clares  at  Cavan  and  BallyjamesdufF;  two  convents  of 
Mercy  at  Belturbet  and  Cootehill;  and  St.  Mary's 
Hospital,  a  nun-managed  institution,  at  Cavan.  At 
the  last  census  the  population  of  Cavan  showed,  after 
Monaghan,  the  highest  rate  of  decrease  in  Ireland, 
namely,  12.8  per  cent,  on  the  preceding  decade,  when  it 
stood  at  1 1 1,917.  The  priests  in  Cavan  are  the  great 
personages  ;  and  wherever  that  is  the  case,  the  laity 
always  show  a  marked  tendency  to  leave  the  locality, 
as  they  are  leaving  Cavan.  Some  very  shrewd,  steady 
Cavan  men,  both  Protestant  and  Catholic,  are  to  be 
found  in  good  positions  in  Dublin. 

The  clerical  organisation  maintained  by  the  Catholic 
minority  of  Ulster  for  the  protection  of  their  faith  and 
morals,  consists  of  the  cardinal,  who  is  the  Archbishop 
of  Armagh,  and  the  six  bishops  of  Dromore,  Down  and 
Connor,  Kilmore,  Derry,  Clogher,  and  Raphoe.  In  these 
seven  dioceses  and  within  the  borders  of  Ulster  there 
are  678  secular  priests.  In  addition  there  are  ten 
settlements  of  various  kinds  of  Christian  Brothers ; 
one  establishment  of  Redemptorists,  one  of  Passionists, 
one  of  Vincentians,  and  one  of  Dominicans,  all  priests, 
their  numbers  not  being  given. 

There  are,  besides,  the  following  convents  of  nuns  : 
I  Presentation,  27  Mercy,  2  Loreto,  3  Poor  Clares,  2 


OUR  ULSTER  CLERICAL  FORCES         93 

Sacred  Heart,  i  Holy  Cross,  i  Charity,  2  Nazareth, 
2  Dominicans,  i  Bon  Secours,  i  Good  Shepherd, 
8  St.  Louis,  and  i  Mary  Immaculate  ;  total,  5  2  con- 
vents of  nuns  within  the  borders  of  Ulster.  The 
number  of  their  inmates  is  at  present  undiscover- 
able,  but,  professed  and  unprofessed,  they  must  be  a 
thousand  souls. 

There  are  8  priest-owned  diocesan  seminaries,  and 
I  o  reformatories  and  "  industrial "  schools  managed  by 
priests  and  nuns.^ 

If  this  army  of  2000  clerics  simply  did  Christian 
work  and  got  decent  remuneration  in  return,  large  as 
the  force  may  be,  there  would  be  nothing  to  find  fault 
with.  But  they  are  all  engaged  in  the  work  of  ex- 
tracting large  legacies  and  donations  from  the  laity  in 
the  manner  which  I  describe  in  the  seventh  chapter, 
and  in  perplexing  the  minds  of  our  youth  and  adults 
after  the  fashion  dealt  with  in  the  eleventh  chapter  of 
this  work. 

That  is  why  their  presence  is  so  objectionable,  and 
why  the  Protestants  of  Ulster,  being  without  such  an 
incubus,  outstrip  us  in  the  handicap  of  life. 

'  Catholic  Directory,  1902. 


CHAPTER   VI 

SACRILEGES   AND    BURGLARIES    OF    CATHOLIC 
CHURCHES 

Before  going  into  the  province  of  Connaught,  let  us 
consider  the  series  of  larcenies  from  Catholic  churches 
which  took  place  in  Ireland  during  the  year  1901,  and 
which  attracted  universal  but  subdued  attention.  Many 
of  the  crimes  were  not  reported  by  the  newspapers,  or 
the  reports  of  them  were  held  back  and  made  little  of, 
out  of  sympathy  with  the  priests.  But  when  those 
crimes  became  more  and  more  frequent,  and  most  of 
the  criminals  remained  undiscovered,  the  clerical  news- 
papers— that  is  to  say,  all  the  newspapers  in  Catholic 
Ireland — were  forced  to  take  notice  of  them.  It  was 
first  suggested  that  the  perpetrators  must  have  been 
English  tramps,  as  no  Irishman,  it  was  alleged,  could 
be  guilty  of  such  infamous  misconduct,  and  for  a  time 
the  clerical  newspapers  drew  what  consolation  was 
available  from  that  supposition.  I  do  not  pretend  to 
have  noted  all,  or  even  half,  of  these  ominous  incidents, 
for  I  made  no  special  effort  to  collect  the  reports  of 
them.  The  first  which  attracted  my  notice  occurred 
at  the  Tomgraney  Chapel  in  the  county  of  Clare  ;  and 
the  following  description  of  the  crime  committed  in 
that  church  is  taken  from  the  evidence  of  Sergeant 
M'Hugh.  He  thus  describes  the  state  of  the  church 
on  his  arrival : — 

"  A  chest  of  drawers  containing  the  sacred  vestments 
had  been  pulled  out,  and  the  vestments  tossed,  as  if 

94 


THE  TOMGRANEY  SACRILEGE  95 

rifled.  The  chest  on  the  book-stand  was  broken  open  ; 
the  altar  was  broken  about  the  tabernacle,  and  the 
marble  ornamentation  of  the  tabernacle  was  broken, 
and  bricks  used  in  the  setting  of  the  safe  and  the 
tabernacle  were  picked  out  and  smashed.  The  door 
of  safe  was  also  battered,  and  a  large  stone,  evidently 
used  to  force  the  safe,  was  on  the  altar,  with  a  broken 
tongs  and  fire-shovel.  The  crucifix  on  the  altar  was 
injured,  and  the  flower  vases  and  cruets  broken.  The 
mass-book  was  disarranged,  and  some  of  the  leaves 
covered  with  excrement.  The  linen  of  the  altar  had 
a  hole  burned,  and  was  profusely  covered  with  excre- 
ment.    The  candlesticks  were  also  thrown  down."  ^ 

Two  tramps.  Irishmen,  were  arrested  for  the  crime  ; 
and,  on  circumstantial  evidence,  were  returned  for  trial 
to  the  assizes  by  the  magistrates,  who  then,  on  the  sug- 
gestion of  the  chairman.  Colonel  O'Callaghan-Westropp 
— a  member  of  the  Church  of  Ireland — passed  a  resolu- 
tion to  the  effect  that  they  "  had  heard  with  horror  of 
the  abominable  acts  of  sacrilege  and  desecration,  and 
conveyed  their  deep  and  respectful  sympathy  to  the 
Lord  Bishop,  Most  Rev.  Dr.  M'Redmond,  and  to  Father 
Macnamara,  P.P."  The  accused  men  were  tried  at 
the  next  ensuing  assizes  in  July  1901,  and  were  sen- 
tenced respectively  to  ten  years'  and  seven  years'  penal 
servitude  by  Chief-Justice  O'Brien. 

But  the  heavy  punishment  acted  as  no  deterrent,  for 
since  that  date  I  remember  to  have  noticed  the  follow- 
ing crimes  of  a  somewhat  similar  nature.  In  the  town 
of  Wexford  two  of  the  Catholic  churches  were  broken 
into  and  the  contents  of  the  collection-boxes  stolen,  the 
particulars  being  as  follow  : — 

"The  Church  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  Rowe 
Street,  and  the  Church  of  the  Assumption,  Bride  Street, 
were  broken  into,  and  £^  in  silver  and  coppers  extracted 

^  Freeman's  Journal,  May  13,  1901. 


96  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

from  the  latter.  No  money  was  found  in  Rowe  Street 
Church,  to  which  an  entrance  was  effected  by  smashing 
open  one  of  the  windows.  Bride  Street  Church  was 
entered  by  means  of  a  revolving  window.  Every  avail- 
able policeman  in  the  town  and  in  the  suburban  police 
stations  have  been  out  on  bicycles  since  an  early  hour 
this  morning,  but  up  to  the  present  no  arrest  has  been 
effected."  ^ 

Some  days  afterwards,  in  the  same  county,  the 
Catholic  churches  in  New  Ross  and  Rosbercon  were 
broken  into  and  robbed.     We  are  told  that 

"  at  six  in  the  morning  in  the  Augustinian  Church,  Rev. 
Brother  Kinsella  found  the  sacristy  door  forced,  and  a 
sum  of  seventeen  shillings  in  coppers  abstracted.  Inves- 
tigation showed  that  the  thief  entered  the  church  bare- 
footed, and  having  failed  to  start  open  a  poor-box  fitted 
into  one  of  the  walls,  he  took  himself  to  the  sacristy  and 
enriched  himself  with  the  amount  stated.  The  sacred 
vessels  were  locked  up  in  a  strong  safe  which  proved 
too  much  for  him,  and  after  tossing  some  of  the  altar 
linen  he  decamped,  presumably  by  the  way  he  came. 
The  perpetrator  then  crossed  the  river,  and  effected  an 
entrance  into  Rosbercon  Catholic  Church,  where  he 
broke  open  the  Catholic  Truth  Society  box,  and  lifted 
the  contents.  He  also  attempted  entry  into  the  sacristy 
here,  but  failed.  Up  to  the  time  of  writing  the  police 
had  not  made  any  arrest." 

Nothing,  so  far  as  I  know,  has  since  been  heard  of 
these  Wexford  robberies. 

A  little  while  after  the  Tomgraney  sacrilege  in  county 
Clare,  the  new  church  of  St.  Mary  of  the  Rosary  at 
Nenagh  in  the  county  Tipperary  was  broken  into  and 
robbed.     We  are  told  that 

"  on  Sunday  morning  when  the  church  was  opened  it 
was  discovered  that  a  most  disgraceful  outrage  had 
been  committed ;  some  miscreant  had  broken  the 
stained-glass  windows  of  the  sacristy,  and  by  the  aid 

1  Freeman's  Journal,  December  21,  1901. 


A  SERIES  OF  CHURCH  BURGLARIES      97 

of  a  spade  and  other  instruments  succeeded  in  forcing 
a  way  in.  The  private  drawers  of  the  sacristy  were 
broken  open,  and  the  key  of  the  safe  abstracted.  The 
burglars  entered  the  church  and  broke  open  the  general 
collection-boxes,  and  the  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  subscrip- 
tion-boxes, and  abstracted  the  contents."  ^ 

I  cannot  help  contrasting  the  energy  with  which  the 
Tipperary  priests  denounced  the  robbers  in  this  case — 
where  they  themselves  were  the  losers  of  a  few  pounds 
— with  their  callousness  after  the  burning  of  Bridget 
Cleary  of  Ballyvadlca,  and  the  concealment  of  the 
murdered  woman's  body.     We  learn,  for  instance,  that 

"  at  all  the  masses  yesterday  the  officiating  priests 
referred  in  condemnatory  terms  to  the  abominable 
and  sacrilegious  outrage  on  the  House  of  the  Lord. 
Rev.  Father  Glynn,  C.C.,  said  it  would  be  hard  to 
believe  that  such  a  crime  could  be  committed  by  any 
one  born  on  Irish  soil ;  but,  whoever  was  the  perpetra- 
tor, he  advised  every  member  of  the  congregation  to 
keep  his  eyes  and  ears  open,  so  that  the  police  might  be 
assisted  in  brinsrinij  such  an  abominable  scoundrel  to 
justice." 

All  over  the  south  of  Ireland  during  1901  this  wave 
of  Catholic  church  robberies  swept.  At  length  police 
guards  were  stationed  at  night  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
churches.  At  Youghal,  Queenstown,  and  at  Killeagh 
in  the  county  of  Cork,  the  churches  were  broken  into 
and  robbed.     We  learn  that  at  Youghal, 

"owing  to  the  robbery  at  Queenstown  the  authorities 
placed  a  special  patrol  to  watch  the  parish  church. 
The  patrol  remained  until  12  o'clock,  and  again  from 
I  A.M.  till  4.30.  Nevertheless,  when  the  parish  clerk 
opened  the  vestry-room  this  morning  at  6  a.m.  he  found 
that  an  entrance  had  been  effected  by  forcing  open  one 
of  the  windows.  The  burglar  had  opened  all  the  locked 
presses,  and,  finding  the  key  of  the  safe  in  one,  opened 

1  Freeman s  Journal,  May  13,  1901. 

G 


98  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

that  also,  subsequently  throwing  the  key  on  the  floor 
where  it  was  found  afterwards.  The  chalices,  which 
were  in  the  safe,  were,  however,  apparently  not  inter- 
fered with.  Having  rifled  the  contents  of  the  various 
presses,  the  burglar  made  his  way  into  a  room  of  the 
vestry,  and  rifled  the  presses  there.  The  poor-boxes 
attached  to  the  pillars  in  the  aisle  of  the  church  were 
also  broken  open.  As  far  as  has  been  ascertained  up  to 
the  present,  the  only  thing  taken  was  some  altar  wine 
from  the  vestry-room.  The  police  have  been  scouring 
the  country  roads  all  the  forenoon,  and  have  arrested 
three  tramps  on  suspicion."  ^ 

I  have  not  heard  that  the  culprits  in  these  three 
cases  have  been  brought  to  justice. 

At  Mitchelstown,  Mallow,  and  Kanturk,  also  in  the 
county  of  Cork,  the  churches  were  broken  into  during 
the  year.  In  the  cases  of  Mitchelstown  and  Kanturk, 
the  criminal  was  brought  to  justice,  and  he  turned  out 
to  be,  not  a  Saxon  or  a  foreigner,  but  a  poor  Irishman 
of  herculean  prowess  and  "  immense  proportions," 
named  Maurice  Sheehan,  a  native  of  Newtownshandrum, 
a  village  in  the  locality  of  the  crime.  He  was  caught 
in  the  act  by  the  police  patrol  in  charge  of  Kanturk 
Church  on  January  31,  1 902  ;  and  pleaded  guilty,  after 
arrest,  to  the  Mitchelstown  robbery  also.  The  police 
patrol  had  been  fruitlessly  on  guard  at  the  Kanturk 
church  for  several  nights,  but  we  are  told  that 

"  in  the  morning  at  4  a.m.  the  thief  was  caught  red- 
handed  while  engaged  robbing  one  of  the  altars.  The 
constables  sprang  from  their  hiding-places  and  closed 
with  the  ruffian,  who  was  of  immense  proportions.  A 
desperate  struggle  ensued,  during  which  Constable 
Sullivan's  left-hand  forefinger  was  bitten  off'.  Constable 
Horan  then  drew  his  revolver  and  fired,  but  the  bullet 
missed  the  scoundrel,  who  wrenched  the  revolver  from 
Constable  Horan,  and  beat  that  officer  almost  senseless 

'  Freeman's  Journal, 


THE   KANTURK  CASE  99 

with  it.  Though  bleeding  and  exhausted,  the  constables 
gallantly  stuck  to  their  man,  and  eventually  overpowered 
him." 

The  man  was  tried  at  Cork  Assizes,^  and  there  must 
have  been  some  extenuating  circumstances  in  his  case, 
for  Judge  Johnson,  an  admirable  and  sensible  judge, 
said,  in  delivering  judgment, 

"he  knew  all  about  the  prisoner's  case,  and  he  took 
into  account  a  good  deal  more  than  appeared  on  the 
face  of  the  depositions.  The  prisoner  had  no  parents, 
and  every  man's  hand  would  be  against  him  for  that 
crime  if  he  Avere  to  go  out,  and,  even  if  he  were  to  give 
him  a  long  term  of  imprisonment,  Avhat  he  had  done 
would  not  be  forgotten  by  the  time  his  sentence  had 
expired,  and  the  only  chance — in  fact,  he  might  say  the 
only  kindness — he  could  do  him  was  to  punish  him 
with  penal  servitude.  If  ho  conducted  himself  with 
propriety  while  he  was  undergoing  the  term  that  would 
be  imposed  on  him,  he  would  get  out  a  little  earlier, 
and  would  come  out  with  a  little  money  that  might 
give  him  a  start  in  life.  He  thought  that  imprison- 
ment, which  he  usually  looked  upon  as  a  better  sentence 
than  penal  servitude,  would  not  be  appropriate  in  this 
case.  He  had  pleaded  guilty  to  breaking  into  the 
Catholic  church  at  Mitchelstown,  the  Catholic  church 
at  Kanturk,  and  with  assaulting  and  wounding  the  two 
constables." 

Sheehan  was  sentenced  to  five  years'  penal  servitude, 
and  his  was  the  only  case,  so  far  as  I  know,  in  which 
the  crime  was  clearly  brought  home  to  the  perpetrator. 
If  we  are  to  draw  a  general  deduction  from  this  Kan- 
turk case,  we  must  conclude  that  these  crimes  were 
committed  by  poor  Catholics  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
various  churches.  I  should  be  inclined  to  say  that  if 
the  robberies  were  the  acts  of  an  organised  roving  gang 
of  burglars,  the  police  would  have  very  little  difficulty 

^  PreemaWs  Journal,  March  21,  1902. 


lOO  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

in  bringing  the  conspirators  to  justice.  Sheehan,  it 
would  appear,  was  in  league  with  nobody  else. 

The  church  robbery  at  Mallow  took  place  about  the 
same  time  as  that  at  Kanturk,  and  its  perpetrator  has 
not  been  discovered.  We  learn  that  the  Mallow  church 
was  twice  broken  into,  which  would  clearly  point  to  the 
crime  as  being  committed  by  a  person  or  persons  resi- 
dent in  the  locality.     The  robbery  is  thus  described : — 

"  A  sacrilegious  attempt  to  rob  Mallow  Catholic  church 
took  place  yesterday  morning.  The  church  was  entered 
by  the  rear  windows,  which  were  forced,  and  the  shrines 
and  collection-boxes  were  broken.  However,  owing  to 
the  forethought  of  the  clerk,  the  boxes  had  been  cleared 
of  their  contents  late  the  previous  evening,  and  the 
church -breakers  gained  nothing  by  their  sacrilegious 
conduct.  This  is  the  second  of  such  attempts  made  on 
the  church.  The  police  had  been  on  patrol  near  the 
gate  until  the  hour  of  3  a.m.,  and  it  was  subsequently 
the  deed  was  done." 

Discussing  the  Youghal  robbery  from  the  bench,  the 
stipendiary  magistrate,  Mr.  Home,  described  it  as 

"  an  outrage  not  only  on  every  man,  woman,  and  child 
in  the  town,  on  every  clergyman  of  all  denominations, 
but  worse  than  all,  an  outrage  on  the  Almighty  Himself. 
They  were  satisfied  that  no  Youghal  man  was  implicated 
in  it,  as  the  majority  of  the  people  had  bent  their  knees 
in  that  church.  His  brother  magistrates  desired  him 
to  call  for  the  assistance  of  every  one  in  Youghal  to  dis- 
cover the  miscreant  who  had  committed  the  outrage." 

I  do  not  think  the  very  poor  Catholics  would  be  so 
horrified  by  the  crime  as  Mr.  Home  thinks ;  and  Avhile  I 
have  no  intention  of  contradicting  him  about  the  Youghal 
case,  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  the  criminals  in  most 
of  these  cases,  reported  and  unreported,  were  local 
people.  The  sordid  spirit  with  which  our  poor  people 
are  imbued,  and  which  gave  birth  to  such  a  melancholy 


clir,  Duldiii. 

FAMILIAK  FlCUUES  AT  A  Chapel  Corneu 

"  True  to  the  history  of  the  priesthood  in  every  Catholic  land,  they 
are  heartless  beyond  measure  to  the  poor  "  (p.  106). 


NUMEROUS  OTHER  CHURCHES   ROBBED    loi 

series  of  crimes  as  we  are  now  considering,  is,  in  my 
opinion,  but  a  natural  outcome  of  sacerdotal  avarice. 
When  the  destined  day  arrives,  if  things  be  not  changed 
for  the  better  in  Catholic  Ireland,  by  a  fair  division  of 
power  in  all  secular  church  matters  between  the  priests 
and  the  laity,  the  priests  and  their  churches  will  get 
short  shrift  and  scant  commiseration  from  the  awakened 
poor.  Archbishop  Hughes's  words  will  not  need  to  be 
reiterated  in  Ireland  then. 

The  Catholic  churches  at  Emly,  in  county  Tipperary, 
and  Hospital,  in  county  Li7nerick,  were  also  broken  into 
and  robbed.     We  are  told  that 

"in  the  Church  of  St.  Ailbe,  at  Emly,  the  windows 
were  smashed  in,  but  before  any  depredations  could  be 
committed  the  thieves  were  disturbed  by  the  police 
about  midnight  as  they  were  returning  from  patrol. 
After  this  the  parties  proceeded  to  the  church  at  Hos- 
pital, three  miles  farther  on,  and  ransacked  it,  but  the 
information  to  hand  does  not  say  with  what  amount 
of  success.  The  church  at  Emly  was  besmeared  with 
blood."! 

A  man  was  charged  before  the  magistrates  with  the 
offence  some  days  afterwards,  and  he  was  described  as 
"  a  native  of  Galway " ;  but  nothing  has  since  been 
heard  of  the  crime,  so  far  as  I  know. 

Those  robberies  were  not  confined  to  any  single  dis- 
trict of  Ireland,  but  took  place  almost  in  every  county  ; 
and  the  simultaneity  with  which  they  took  place  in  far 
distant  localities  dispels  the  theory  that  they  were  the 
acts  of  "  a  professional  band  of  church  robbers  touring 
the  country."  On  the  morning  of  Wednesday,  De- 
cember 4,  1 90 1 ,  the  Catholic  cathedral  at  Newry  "  was 
burglariously  broken  into  and  the  contents  of  six  alms- 
boxes  carried  off"."^     On  the  same  night  the  Catholic 

^  Freeman's  Journal.  •  Irish  Times,  December  5,  1901. 


102  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

church  at  Omagh  in  county  Tyrone,  a  long  distance 
off,  was  broken  iato  and  the  collection-boxes  plundered. 
It  was  stated  that  "  the  boxes  had  been  cleared  out  by 
the  priests  "  before  leaving  the  church,  and  that,  there- 
fore, the  thieves  got  no  booty. 

We  may  expect  to  find  that  the  boxes  will  be  in- 
variably emptied  each  evening  in  all  the  Cathohc 
churches  henceforth,  and  that  the  wave  of  robberies 
will  subside.  But  the  feeling  which  urged  poor  Irish 
Catholics  to  commit  these  crimes  cannot  be  as  readily 
put  away  as  the  pence  in  the  collection-boxes.  The 
widespread  spirit,  of  which  those  desperate  acts  are  but 
the  index,  will  still  abide  in  our  midst,  and  it  would  be 
a  foolish  man,  be  he  statesman,  priest,  or  lay  citizen,  who 
should  omit  to  take  heed  of  such  ominous  occurrences. 

The  Dundalk  Church  was  also  broken  into  about  this 
time;  but  the  criminal  remained  undiscovered,  as  at 
Newry  and  Omagh.     At  Lisbum  also  we  are  told  that 

"St.  Patrick's  Chapel  was  visited  by  thieves,  who 
effected  an  entrance  to  the  sacristy,  and  proceeded  to 
ransack  the  place,  bursting  open  a  press,  from  which 
they  took  coppers  to  the  amount  of  about  2s.  lod. 
The  contents  of  a  cash-box — the  amount  is  not  known 
— were  also  abstracted,  the  box  apparently  having  been 
opened  with  a  skeleton  key.  Burnt  matches  and  a 
piece  of  candle  were  found  on  the  floor.  The  visitors 
made  good  their  escape  before  daylight,  and  up  to  the 
present  their  whereabouts  has  not  been  discovered." 

At  Downpatrick  we  are  told  the  St.  Patrick's  Memorial 
Church  was  broken  into — 

"The  police  were  shortly  apprised  of  the  fact,  and 
District  Inspector  O'Shee,  with  Head-Constable  Murphy 
and  Sergeants  M'Cann  and  Bullin,  were  soon  on  the 
scene,  when  it  was  discovered  that  a  hole  had  been 
made  in  one  of  the  stained-glass  windows  sufficient  to 
admit  a  man.     The  poor-boxes  were  broken  and  empty, 


KINGSTOWN  CHURCH  ROBBED         103 

but  what  they  contained  is  not  known,  in  the  vestry 
there  was  evidence  that  an  attempt  had  been  made  to 
open  the  safe,  and  the  floor  was  dotted  here  and  there 
with  wax,  showing  that  one  of  the  candles  had  been 
lighted."  1 

Nor    has   Dubhn    and    its    vicinity    escaped.       We 
learn,  to  our  amazement,  that 

"  last  night  some  evil-disposed  persons  succeeded  in 
securing  an  entrance  into  St.  Michael's  Church,  Kings- 
town, through  the  sanctuary  porch,  and  having  entered 
the  church,  rifled  the  donation-boxes  of  their  contents, 
the  amount  of  which  is  not  known.  The  ruffians  forced 
their  way  into  the  vestry,  where  they  broke  open  the 
boxes  they  found  there,  and  also  two  drawers  belonging 
to  two  of  the  clergymen  attached  to  the  church.  In 
one  of  these  drawers  they  found  a  sum  of  about  30s. 
made  up  in  cartridges,  after  securing  which  they  re- 
treated from  the  church."  2 

We  are  also  told  that  on  the  same  night 

"  an  attempt  was  made  to  enter  the  Church  of  St. 
Patrick,  Monkstown,  through  the  vestry,  which  had 
been  entered  by  placing  an  old  door  against  the  back 
wall  of  the  church  and  raising  the  window  of  the  vestry, 
but  the  door  leading  from  the  vestry  to  the  church 
proved  too  strong  for  the  ruffians,  who  were  obliged  to 
leave  without  having  secured  any  booty." 

And  it  was  only  about  a  fortnight  after  these  occur- 
rences, we  were  informed  that 

"  a  sacrilegious  burglary  was  committed  in  Bray  during 
the  early  hours  of  morning  at  the  Catholic  Church 
of  the  Most  Holy  Redeemer,  of  which  the  Right 
Rev.  Dr.  Donnelly,  Bishop  of  Canea,  is  parish  priest. 
The  thief  made  his  way  over  the  altar  rails  to  the 
sacristy.  The  sacristy  door  was  locked,  with  the  key 
still  in  the  lock  on  the  inside ;  but  this  difficulty  appears 

'  Freeman's  Journal,  Dec.  17,  1901.      -  Evening  Telegraph,  Nov.  30,  1901. 


I04  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

to  have  been  overcome  by  smashing  the  glass  of  a  small 
round  window  in  the  door.  By  this  way  the  key  was 
reached  and  turned.  In  the  sacristy  the  thief  forced  a 
safe,  and  secured  £i,  5s.  in  cash.  Another  safe,  with  a 
secret  lock,  was  also  opened,  but  it  only  contained  the 
church  records.  The  various  donation-boxes  in  the 
body  of  the  church  were  then  broken  open,  but  here 
the  burglar  must  have  been  disappointed,  as  it  is  the 
practice  to  clear  them  every  night.  Having  thus  done 
the  round  of  the  church,  the  thief  appears  to  have  let 
himself  out  of  the  door  next  the  window  he  entered 
by  means  of  a  key  taken  from  the  sacristy.  In  one 
important  matter  the  burglary  differs  from  the  general 
character  of  these  sacrileges,  which  have  been  so  fre- 
quent of  late.  The  thief  is  believed  to  have  carried  otf 
a  missing  pyx.  Hitherto  in  these  cases  money  only 
has  been  taken,  and  so  the  police  hope  the  present 
digression,  if  true,  may  form  the  basis  of  a  clue."  ^ 

The  pyx,  or  sacred  vessel  carried  off,  has  not,  so  far  as 
I  am  aware,  led  to  the  discovery  of  the  thief ;  although 
an  arrest  was  made  and  a  special  court  held  on  a 
Sunday,"  before  which  the  prisoner  was  arraigned. 

These  crimes  still  continue  to  be  conuiiitted,  despite 
the  public  attention  which  has  been  aroused.  At 
Limerick,  one  of  Bishop  O'Dwyer's  churches  was  broken 
into.     We  are  told — 

"  some  time  during  Saturday  night,  St.  Mary's  Catholic 
Church  was  broken  into  by  a  thief,  who  effected 
an  entrance  by  a  back  window,  and  abstracted  a 
small  sum,  probably  two  shillings,  from  a  collection- 
box.  No  further  damage  was  done.  The  police  are 
making  inquiries,  but  no  arrest  has  yet  been  made."  ^ 

And  a  few  days  later,  one  of  Cardinal  Logue's 
churches  was  broken    into  and — the  collection-boxes 

^  Freeman's  Journal,  Dec.  19,  1901.  ^  Inde-pendcnt,  Jan.  6,  1902. 

*  Freeman^!  Journal,  March  25,  1902. 


AMBUSH   DURING   MASS  105 

being,  doubtless,  empty — several  articles  of  altar  pro- 
perty were  taken.     We  are  informed  that 

"  the  Vestry  of  Moy  Catholic  Church  was  sacrilegiously 
broken  into  last  night,  and  a  number  of  altar  requisites 
stolen.  It  appears  that  the  ruthans  effected  an  entrance 
by  means  of  a  window  in  the  sacristy.  The  police  are 
investigating  the  affair,  but  up  to  tiie  present  no  one 
has  been  apprehended."  ^ 

But  a  church  robbery  more  remarkable  than  any  that 
I  have  dealt  with,  has  yet  to  be  recorded : — 

"  Owing  to  some  money  being  missing  for  some  time 
past  from  the  donation-box  attached  to  the  shrine  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin,  in  the  Kilquade  parish  church, 
CO.  Wicklow,  the  matter  was  placed  in  the  hands  of 
the  Newtownmountkennedy  police,  who  placed  a  watch 
on  the  building.  The  result  of  this  has  been  that,  on 
Sunday  morning  last,  Constable  Bowles  and  another 
policeman  ambushed  themselves  on  the  gallery  of  the 
sacred  building.  But  it  was  not  until  after  mass,  at 
about  10  o'clock,  that  their  efforts  were  rewarded  with 
success.  From  their  place  of  concealment  they  held 
a  commanding  view  of  the  donation-box,  into  which 
they  had  previously  deposited  some  marked  coins. 
When  the  people  had  cleared  out  and  quietness  pre- 
vailed, a  man  entered  the  sacred  edifice  and  proceeded 
to  the  donation-box  at  the  shrine  of  the  Blessed  Virgin. 
Having  opened  it,  he  began  to  transfer  the  contents 
into  his  pockets,  and  when  he  seemed  to  be  well  into 
his  work  the  police  disclosed  themselves  and  had  the 
delinquent  quickly  under  arrest.  The  person  arrested 
is  one  of  the  collectors  at  the  chapel  doors.'and  in  whom 
a  good  deal  of  confidence  was  reposed,  and  owing  to  the 
position  he  occupied,  his  arrest  has  caused  a  considerable 
sensation  in  the  locality.  When  searched,  amongst  other 
moneys  found  on  the  prisoner  was  one  of  the  marked 
coins  which  had  been  placed  in  the  box.  He  has  been 
remanded,  pending  the  holding  of  a  special  court."  - 

1  Freeman's  Journal,  March  29,  1902.  '^  Ibid.,  April  15,  1902. 


io6  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

What  a  disgraceful  and  savage  state  of  things  this 
reveals  !  While  mass  proceeds,  and  the  sacred  mystery 
is  being  performed,  two  policemen  are  "  ambushed  in  the 
gallery."  The  Host  is  elevated,  the  Sanctus  rings,  breasts 
are  struck  at  the  Agnus  Dei,  the  Eucharist  is  distri- 
buted. Corpus  Domini  Nostri  Jesu  Christi  custodiat 
animam  tuam  in  vitam  ceternam,  Amen.  But  the 
lynx  eyes  and  sharp  ears  of  the  two  policemen  are  on 
the  cash-box,  watching  for  the  expected  thief.  The 
officiating  priest  can  have  had  little  thought  for  any- 
thing but  the  thief.  And  the  thief  himself,  respected 
and  trusted,  takes  part  in  it  all  and  bides  his  own  time. 

May  not  one  doubt  whether  men  really  believe  in  the 
Mass  when  such  traps  can  be  laid  and  crimes  projected 
during  its  solemn  celebration  ?  I  imagine  that  were 
I  a  priest,  I  should  let  a  thief  empty  my  donation- 
boxes  at  will,  rather  than  be  a  party  to  such  a  tragic 
satire  as  that  which  was  enacted  at  Kilquade  on 
Sunday,  April   13,  1902. 

No  thoughtful  person  can  consider  such  a  series  of 
occm-rences  beneath  notice.  If  there  were  a  famine  in 
the  land  it  would  perhaps  afford  an  explanation ;  but 
there  has  been  no  distress  whatever  in  Ireland  in  1 901-2. 
It  has,  hitherto,  been  the  boast  of  the  priests  that  the 
poor  Irish  would  starve  rather  than  do  any  act  de- 
rogatory to  "  the  faith "  and  their  "  holy  mother  the 
Church."  In  the  famine  of  1847  they  did  not  do  these 
things.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  in  1847  the 
priests  were  in  closer  touch  with  the  poor  Catholic 
people.  Since  then  they  have  grown  rich ;  and,  true 
to  the  history  of  the  priesthood  in  every  Catholic 
land,  they  are  heartless  ■  beyond  measure  to  the  poor. 
These  occurrences  ought  to  show  our  statesmen  that 
sacerdotalism  cannot  hold  the  bad  passions  of  an  un- 
enlightened people  effectually  in  leash,  and  that  the 


THE  PRIESTS  AND  THE   POOR  107 

money  spent  on  endoAving  priests  is  money  spent  in 
sowing  the  seeds  of  future  revolution.  If  this  outbiurst 
should  serve  as  a  lesson  and  a  warning  to  those  who 
are  entrusted  with  the  government  of  Ireland,  that  a 
rich  priesthood  is  not  all  that  is  required  to  make  our 
people  good  or  happy,  then  in  its  own  way,  reprehen- 
sible as  it  may  have  been,  it  will  not  have  occurred  in 
vain,  and  out  of  the  beginnings  of  evil,  much  good  will 
have  come  for  Catholic  Ireland.  If,  however,  a  time 
must  come  in  Ireland  when  the  poor  Catholic  laity 
will  forcibly  assert  their  right  to  moral  and  mental 
freedom,  then  the  Irish  priests  will  find  as  few  friends 
amongst  the  poor,  as  their  continental  brethren  have 
discovered.  Poor,  Catholic  Ireland,  though  it  be  the 
last  land  in  Europe  to  rise  up  against  the  stifling  sway 
of  sacerdotalism  in  secular  affairs,  may  yet  grapple 
even  more  thoroughly  with  the  priests  and  their 
supernatural  pretensions  in  secular  affairs  than  the 
Roman  Catholics  of  the  Continent. 

Let  us  now,  in  a  new  chapter,  endeavour  to  form 
some  estimate  of  the  vast  sums  of  money  which  come 
into  the  hands  of  the  priests ;  and,  when  we  have  done 
so,  let  us  contrast  the  wealth  of  the  clerics  with  the 
poverty  of  the  great  bulk  of  the  laity.  We  may  then 
understand  better  the  feeling  of  passionate  despera- 
tion which  animated  the  perpetrators  of  the  foregoing 
crimes. 


CHAPTER    VII 

ONE    WAY    TO    MAKE    MILLIONS 

"I  have  need  of  all  the  resources  of  my  subjects  ;  but  the  holy 
father  is  continually  inventing  new  exactions,  which  transfer  the 
money  of  my  kingdom  into  the  coffers  of  the  popedom.  Most 
assuredly  the  Eoman  Government  is  only  a  net  to  catch  money." — 
King  Francis  of  France,  Du  Bellay's  Memoires. 

It  is  not  necessary,  but  I  tliink  it  advisable,  to  state 
that  I  approach  the  consideration  of  the  testaments 
commented  upon  in  this  chapter  solely  from  the  point 
of  view  of  public  policy ;  and  that  I  impute  nothing  in 
the  nature  of  7nala  fides,  or  undue  influence,  to  any  of 
the  beneficiaries  under  those  wills.  Unfortunately  for 
Ireland,  they  are  not  secret  or  peculiar  wills ;  they  are 
ordinary,  average  testamentary  dispositions,  and  matters 
of  public  notoriety,  which  the  law,  actuated  by  a  desire 
for  the  well  -  being  of  the  community,  orders  to  be 
published  for  the  information  of  the  public,  every 
member  of  which  is  held  to  be  concerned  in  these 
bequests  for  what  are  commonly  called  "  charitable 
purposes." 

I  have  given  the  legal  notices  in  the  original  words, 
save  for  the  pruning  down  of  solicitorial  redundancy 
in  terms ;  because  no  summary  could  so  well  disclose 
the  working  of  the  minds  of  the  testators,  many  of 
whom  were  ladies,  at  that  solemn  period  of  human  life 
when  death  is  unmistakably  in  view — a  time  which  is 
destined  to  arrive  for  us  all.  On  that  account  the 
chapter  may  be  tedious  reading,  and  for  the  information 

io8 


A  WEXFORD  WILL  109 

of  those  who  hesitate  to  enter  upon  its  perusal,  let  me 
assure  them  that  it  may  be  safely  skipped. 

Readers  of  Irish  Roman  Catholic  newspapers  en- 
grossed in  the  increasingly  pointless  speeches  of  our 
orators,  the  mysterious  deliverances  of  our  priests,  and 
the  melancholy -humorous  proceedings  of  our  local 
boards,  do  not,  perhaps,  peruse  the  advertisement 
columns  with  the  attention  they  deserve.  Yet  the 
advertisements  are  the  worth,  and  the  news  is  but  the 
leather  and  pnmcUa  of  our  papers,  from  more  than  one 
point  of  view.  The  following,  for  instance,  is  a  form 
of  legal  notice  which  meets  the  eye  with  increasing 
frequency : — 

"Notice  of  Charitable  Bequests. 

"  In  the  goods  of  Ellen  Larkin,  formerly  of  Carrigeen 
Street,  Wexford,  and  late  of  Rocktield  House,  Wexford, 
in  the  county  of  Wexford,  widow,  deceased.  Notice  is 
hereby  given,  pursuant  to  the  Statute  30  &  31  Vic. 
cap.  54,  that  the  above-named  Ellen  Larkin,  who  died 
on  the  9th  November  1900,  by  her  will,  dated  21st 
April  1897,  after  giving  certain  directions  and  making 
certain  pecuniary  bequests,  as  therein  mentioned,  devised 
and  bequeathed  all  the  residue  of  her  'property,  real 
and  personal,  to  the  Right  Rev.  Abraham  Brownrigg, 
Roman  Catholic  bishop  of  Ossory,  and  the  Rev.  John 
Lennon,  of  the  House  of  Missions,  Enniscorthy,  the 
executors  and  trustees  therein  named,  upon  trust,  to 
apply  the  same  in  and  upon  having  Masses  celebrated 
f&r  the  repose  of  her  soul  and  the  souls  of  her  deceased 
relatives,  and  in  and  upon  such  charitable  purposes,  in 
Ireland  exclusively,  as  they,  or  the  survivor  of  them, 
should  think  tit.  And  probate  of  the  said  will  was, 
on  the  18th  day  of  March  1901,  granted  forth  of  the 
Waterford  District  Registry,  King's  Bench  Division 
(Probate)  of  the  High  Court  of  Justice  in  Ireland,  to 
the  said  Rev.  John  Lennon,  one  of  the  executors  and 


no  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

trustees  named  in  said  will.     Dated  this  loth  day  of 
August  1 90 1. 

"  To  the  Commissioners  of  Charitable  Donations  and 
Bequests,  and  to  all  others  whom  it  may  concern."  ^ 

Here  is  a  widow,  evidently  retired  from  business,  who 
devises  all  the  residue  of  her  property,  real  and  personal, 
to  the  Roman  Catholic  bishop  of  Ossory  and  a  regular 
priest,  upon  trust,  to  apply  the  same  in  having  masses 
said  for  the  repose  of  her  own  soul  and  the  souls  of  her 
relatives,  and  upon  such  charitable  purposes  "  as  they 
should  think  fit."  The  bishop  and  his  co-trustee  are 
this  lady's  residuary  legatees,  and  take  the  position  of  her 
heirs ;  and  the  property,  real  and  personal,  is  made  over 
absolutely  to  them.  Owing  to  a  recent  decision  in  our 
Irish  courts,  bequests  for  masses  are  now  valid,  if  the  will 
stipulate  that  the  masses  are  to  be  celebrated  in  public ; 
the  idea  underlying  the  decision  being  that  the  celebra- 
tion of  mass  in  public  is  an  act  for  the  public  benefit.  I 
do  not  pretend  to  follow  the  philosophy  of  that  argument. 
There  are  masses  enough  and  to  spare  for  the  public 
in  Ireland,  and  their  celebration  pays  the  priests  well 
without  these  special  obituary  masses.  I  cannot  regard 
a  sum  of  money  given  to  an  ecclesiastic  "  for  the  cele- 
bration of  mass "  as  anything  but  a  douceur  to  that 
ecclesiastic.  To  hold  that  such  a  gift  confers  a  benefit 
on  the  community — when  the  public  is  already  suffici- 
ently served  and  there  is  no  scarcity  of  masses — would 
be,  for  me,  to  hold  what  is  contrary  to  truth  and 
common  sense,  and  to  hold  what  nobody  believes.  It 
is  a  matter  that  intimately  concerns  us  all ;  because 
the  transference  of  such  large  sums  of  money — such 
millions  of  money — to  the  priests  is  a  grave  injury  to 
the  body-politic,  and  constitutes,  as  I  think,  the  head 
and  front  of  the  Irish  difficulty.     Let  our  priest-sup- 

1  Freeman's  Journal,  August  15,  1901. 


A   LIMERICK   BEQUEST  in 

ported  politicians  perorate  as  they  will,  let  those  com- 
fortable Catholic  lay  folk  who  have  risen  to  place  and 
power  under  priests'  patronage,  dissemble  as  they  may, 
my  words  will  yet  be  found  to  be  true. 

Few  people,  even  in  Ireland,  realise  what  vast 
amounts  are  handed  over  to  the  priests  for  masses — 

"The  Most  Rev.  Dr.  O'Dwyer,  Bishop  of  Limerick, 
begs  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  from  Miss  B.  O'Grady, 
4  Pembroke  Road,  Dublin,  of  £1660  (one  thousand  six 
hundred  and  sixty  pounds)  for  masses  for  the  repose  of 
the  souls  of  her  late  sister,  Mary  O'Grady  (of  Limerick), 
of  her  parents  and  relatives,  and  herself,  and  also  chari- 
table purposes  in  Limerick  and  Patrick's  Well."  ^ 

Who  amongst  us  will  maintain  that  in  a  country 
with  a  decreasing  population  and  suffering  from  want 
of  capital,  such  a  sum  of  money  is  not  wasted  upon 
such  an  object  ?  I  do  not  believe  that  God  approves 
of  it ;  and  were  I  a  priest  in  Ireland  to-day,  I  should 
consider  myself  unfit  to  live,  were  I  to  accept  money 
for  such  a  purpose  from  any  one.  The  Irish  clerical 
pressman  2  may  gloze  the  practice  over  in  giving 
religious  advice  to  his  correspondents — 

"  Constant  Reader  of  the  Irish  Catholic. — Through 
want  of  knowing  better  you  speak  of  '  paying  for 
masses.'  The  phrase  is  a  very  improper  one.  The 
honorarium  given  to  the  priest  is  for  his  sustenance, 
and  not  the  price  of  that  which  is  above  and  beyond 
all  price.  Send  whatever  honorarium  you  can  reason- 
ably afford." 

Is  an  honorarium  of  one  thousand  six  hundred  and 
sixty  pounds  given  to  a  priest  "  for  his  sustenance  "  ? 
Are  the  following  masses  "  paid  for  "  ? — 

"  The  will  of  Mr.  James  Francis  Kenna,  Addison 
Terrace,  Glasnevin,   who  died   on  the    13th   February 

'  Evening  Telegraph,  April  13,  1901.  ^  Irish  Catholic. 


112  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

1 90 1,  bequeathed  for  masses  for  the  repose  of  his  soul 
£100  to  the  Lord  Abbot  of  Mount  Melleray ;  ;^  100  to 
the  Lord  Abbot  of  Mount  St.  Joseph's,  Roscrea;  and 
;^ioo  to  the  Rector  of  the  Jesuit  Community,  Dublin; 
;^ioo  to  the  Rector  of  the  Jesuit  Community,  Liver- 
pool; and  i^ioo  to  the  Rector  of  the  Passionist  Com- 
munity, Mount  Argus,  Dublin."  ^ 

What  is  each  of  those  sums  of  ^100  but  a  com- 
fortable hand-over  for  each  of  these  communities  ? 
Which  of  us,  seeing  our  languishing  trade,  could  not 
point  out  how  the  ^500  might  be  spent  with  some 
practical  advantage  to  Ireland  ? 

I  do  not  profess  to  give  an  exhaustive  collection  of 
those  advertisements  in  this  chapter.  I  merely  give 
a  few  samples  taken  haphazard  from  one  or  two  papers, 
during  a  few  brief  months  at  the  end  of  1901  and  the 
beginning  of  1902  ;  and  the  testators  are  all  people  of 
limited  means,  belonging  to  the  middle  class,  except 
one  poor  labouring  man.  The  few  rich  Catholics 
whom  we  have  in  Ireland,  or  our  Irish  Catholic  gentry, 
do  not  leave  so  much  money  in  this  way.  I  do  not 
select  extreme  cases  to  illustrate  my  arguments  ;  and 
some  of  my  Irish  readers  may  feel  inclined  to  say, 
"  Oh,  I  know  far  worse  cases  than  that  myself ! "  So 
do  I ;  but  I  only  deal  with  matters  of  public  comment. 
Here  is  the  will  of  a  man  of  apparently  limited  means — 

"Patrick  Doyle,  by  his  will,  bequeathed  to  Father 
Mooney,  Catholic  curate,  Ringsend,  Dublin,  ;^I25  for 
masses  for  the  repose  of  testator's  soul ;  to  Father 
Purcell,  Catholic  curate,  Sandymount,  ^^125  for  masses 
for  the  repose  of  testator's  soul,  both  sums  to  be  paid 
at  the  rate  of  £1  per  month  to  each  of  said  legatees; 
and  testator  charged  said  legacies  on  all  his  property. 
Testator  directed  that,  in  case  of  the  death  of  either  of 
said  legatees  before  such  sums  should  have  been  paid, 

*  Freeman's  Journal,  July  24    1901. 


TEN   YEARS  OF  MASSES  113 

the  residues  unpaid  be  bequeathed  to  the  senior  curate 
of  the  respective  churches ;  and  testator  directed  that 
the  masses  should  he  celebrated  in  Ireland,  and  in  a 
church  open  to  the  public  at  the  time  of  their  celebra- 
tion ;  and  testator  directed,  that  should  the  said  legacies 
for  any  reason  fail,  then  he  bequeathed  the  same  to  the 
said  respective  legatees  for  their  own  use  absolutely, 
but  payable  as  aforesaid."  ^ 

Every  hitch  is  guarded  against,  every  possible  break- 
down of  the  legacy  anticipated  and  provided  for. 
;^2  5o  was  a  large  sum  to  get  for  masses  from  such  a 
will;  and  the  way  in  which  it  was  left — ;^i  a  month 
for  125  months  :  ten  years  and  five  months — is  only 
explicable  on  the  assumption  that  the  deceased  expected 
to  be  in  purgatory  for  a  period  which  that  allowance 
would  cover.  Alas,  poor  Ireland !  Such  money  will 
go  out  of  remunerative  circulation  and  out  of  trade, 
and  must  be  a  drain  on  the  resources  of  the  represen- 
tatives before  it  is  paid  oft",  no  matter  how  gradually  it 
be  paid,  or  how  comfortable  they  may  be.  It  helps  to 
reveal  why  our  religion  is  the  real  cause  of  our  back- 
wardness, and  why  it  seems  as  hard  for  an  Irish 
Catholic  to  succeed  in  life  under  the  dispensation 
prevailing  in  Ireland  as  for  a  camel  to  pass  through 
the  eye  of  a  needle. 

Next  let  us  take  the  case  of  a  widow  residino:  in  a 
poor  street  in  Dublin,  who  gives  otie-third  of  her  entire 
assets  to  a  pro-cathedral  curate,  to  pay  him  for  saying 
masses  for  the  repose  of  her  soul — 

"Mary  Delahunt,  Upper  Gloucester  Street,  Dublin, 
widow,  by  her  will,  dated  8th  July  1901,  bequeathed  to 
the  Rev.  Fr.  Farrell,  CO.,  pro-cathedral,  Marlborough 
Street,  Dublin,  one -third  of  her  entire  assets,  after 
payment  of  her  debts  and  funeral  and   testamentary 

'  Freeman'' $  Journal,  Junw  1901. 

H 


114  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

expenses,  for  masses,  to  be  celebrated  in  a  public  churcb 
in  Ireland,  for  the  repose  of  her  soul.  Dated  this  23rd 
day  of  August  1901."  ^ 

Oh,  with  what  fear  and  doubt  she  must  have  been 
approaching  the  bourne  !  Is  that  the  spirit  from  whix3h 
a  successful,  strong-minded  nation  can  be  built  up  ? 

In  the  following  will,  a  "  gentleman,"  living  in  the 
same  locality,  leaves  all  his  property,  on  the  happening 
of  a  specific  event — the  death  of  a  child  before  reach- 
ing the  age  of  twenty-one — to  Archbishop  Walsh  and 
his  executors,  one  of  whom  was  a  curate  at  the  pro- 
cathedral  in  Marlborough  Street,  for  charitable  purposes 
in  their  absolute  discretion,  which  would  be  tantamount 
to  a  free  gift. 

"  John  Doyle,  Lower  Gloucester  Street,  Dublin,  gentle- 
man, deceased,  by  his  will  devised  all  his  property  to 
his  executors,  and  to  the  Roman  Catholic  archbishop 
of  Dublin,  at  the  death  of  Thomas  Doyle,  named  in 
the  said  will,  in  case  he  should  die  before  attaining 
the  age  of  tiuenty-one  years,  upon  trust  for  such  chari- 
table purposes  in  Ireland  as  they  in  their  absolute 
discretion  should  think  proper ;  and  bequeathed  to 
Father  Bowden,  pro-cathedral,  Marlborough  Street,  ;^20 
for  masses,  to  be  offered  up  in  public  in  Ireland, 
for  the  repose  of  his  soul.  Dated  this  13th  day  of 
August  1 90 1." 

The  following  will  made  by  a  Miss  Kelly,  of  New- 
bridge, CO.  Kildare,  is  also  worthy  of  notice.  Monsignor 
Tynan,  of  Newbridge,  the  principal  legatee,  is  one  of 
the  executors — 

"  Rosanna  Kelly,  who  died  on  the  4th  day  of  July 
1 90 1,  by  her  will  left  the  following  charitable  be- 
quests :  ;^300  to  the  Very  Reverend  Monsignor  Tynan, 
P.P.,  for  Newbridge  Parish  Church  ;  to  the  Prior  of 
Dominican  College,  Newbridge,  ;^ioo  for  masses,  to  be 

^  Freeman's  Journal,  August  24,  1901. 


LARGE  LEGACY  FOR  THE  POPE   115 

said  in  public  in  the  church  attached  to  said  college, 
for  the  repose  of  testatrix's  soul  and  the  souls  of  her 
parents  ;  Reverend  Mother,  Newbridge  Convent,  ^50, 
to  be  divided  amongst  the  poor  of  Newbridge;  Father 
Byrne,  P.P.,  Carlow-Graigue,  ;^30  for  masses,  to  be  said 
in  public  in  his  chapel  at  Carlow-Graigue,  for  the 
souls  of  testatrix,  her  parents,  and  of  her  relatives; 
Reverend  John  Kelly,  C.C,  Newbridge,  and  Rev.  John 
Murray,  C.C,  Newbridge,  ;i^30  each,  for  masses,  to  be 
said  in  public  in  Newbridge  Parish  Chapel,  for  a  like 
purpose.     Dated  21st  day  of  August  1901."^ 

;^540  seems  a  large  sum  to  be  left  for  masses  and 
sundry  religious  purposes  by  this  maiden  lady  in  New- 
bridge. What  a  comfortable  nest-egg  that  amount 
would  make  for  a  steady  young  man,  either  shop- 
keeper, or  farmer,  or  trader  of  any  description,  to  start 
with  in  life,  or  to  help  on  a  local  industry,  if  such 
existed.  What  blessings  in  such  hands  it  might  bring 
upon  Newbridge.  But,  devoted  to  religious  uses  and 
in  religious  hands,  it  can  work  nothing  but  degeneracy 
and  future  trouble  for  Ireland ;  it  can  only  intensify 
the  lamentable  existing  condition  of  things. 

In  March  1902  the  following  cases  came  before  the 
Master  of  the  Rolls  in  Dublin.  John  O'Neill,  of  Navan, 
had  died  some  time  previously,  leaving  property  value 
for  ;iCi 3,000.  He  bequeathed  ^500  to  the  Lourdes 
Institution;  ;^5oo  to  Mount  Melleray,  the  Cistercian 
Monastery;  ;^2  00  to  All  Hallows  College,  Dublin,  for 
priests  intended  for  the  foreign  mission,  of  which  we 
have  an  illustration  in  this  book ;  and  ;^  i  5  o  to  Mount 
Argus,  the  Passionists'  place  of  abode  in  Dublin.  There 
was  also  a  bequest  of  £100  to  the  Roman  Catholic 
archbishop  for  the  time  being,  "  in  trust  to  be  distri- 
buted to  the  most  needy  and  deserving  free  orphanages 
in  Dublin,  subject   to   the  patronage   of  the   Blessed 

'  General  Advertiser, 


ii6  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

Virgin  and  St.  Joseph,"  provided  that  masses  were  said 
for  the  testator's  soul.  And  he  also  bequeathed  £^0 
each  to  the  churches  of  St.  Francis,  St.  Peter,  St. 
Augustine,  St.  Dominick  and  St,  James,  Drogheda,  on 
similar  conditions.  What  a  vast  sum  this  ;^I450  is 
for  a  Navan  trader  to  spend  on  masses  !  The  testator 
in  his  will  added,  "  I  make  these  four  bequests  to  the 
above-named  religious  institutions  on  the  sole  condition 
of  participating  in  the  masses,  suffrages,  and  devotions 
daily  offered."  But  there  is  even  worse  to  follow.  He 
left  all  the  rest  of  his  property  to  the  Bishop  of  Meath, 
"  as  my  residuary  legatee,  and  the  balance  of  assets  is 
to  be  sent  to  the  Pope,  to  be  given  by  him  to  the 
most  urgent  missions  engaged  in  the  propagation  of 
the  Faith  in  any  part  of  the  world,  on  condition  that 
his  Holiness  will  specially  enjoin  on  the  missions  to 
remember  in  their  masses,  devotions,  and  suffrages  the 
soul  of  the  testator."  The  Bishop  of  Meath  refused  to 
appear  in  this  case,  which  came  before  the  Master  of 
the  Rolls  for  his  decision.  Bishop  Gaffney's  position 
being  only  that  of  a  trustee  for  the  Pope  !  The  Master 
of  the  Rolls  held  that  all  the  bequests  were  valid,  and 
directed  the  amount  in  the  executors'  hands  "to  be 
brought  into  Court  and  subject  to  the  rulings  he  had 
already  made,  declared  the  bishop,  trustee  for  his 
Holiness  the  Pope,  entitled  to  the  residue  of  the 
estate."  ^  Truly  the  Pope  has  reason  to  remember 
Navan ;  but,  amongst  his  millions,  John  O'Neill's  eleven 
or  twelve  thousand  pounds  will  not  make  much  show. 
What  might  not  that  money  have  done,  in  good  hands, 
in  Navan  !  But,  alas,  there  is  a  scarcity  of  good  hands 
and  good  brains  in  Roman  Catholic  Ireland ;  for  bad 
as  may  be  the  loss  of  the  actual  money  to  this  country, 
it  is  not  the  worst  of  our  national  loss  accruing  from 

^  Irish  Times,  March  4,  1902. 


THE  PROPAGATION   OF  THE   FAITH     117 

this  state  of  things.  It  is  the  "  mind  diseased  "  which 
makes  such  thmgs  possible,  that  is  Ireland's  greatest 
loss,  not  the  actual  loss  of  the  coin,  I  do  not  censure 
those  clerics  most  for  the  actual  taking  of  the  money ; 
I  blame  them  most  of  all  for  so  enervating  the  minds 
of  our  people  that  they  dare  in  their  ignorance,  when  at 
death's  door,  to  buy  off  the  Almighty  Himself  through 
the  priest,  as  they  have  been  buying  the  priest  from 
the  cradle  to  the  grave.  How  can  a  land  thrive  when 
the  mind  of  the  nation  is  in  such  a  condition  ? 

In  1884  Ellen  Delahunty  died  at  Fethard,  in  the 
CO.  Tipperary,  "  possessed  of  about  iJ^2000  in  consols, 
invested  in  the  joint  name  of  herself  and  of  her  sister 
Margaret,  and  monies  on  deposit  receipt  to  the  extent 
of  ;^400,  also  in  their  joint  names."  Ellen  bequeathed 
all  her  property  to  Margaret  for  life,  and  after  Margaret's 
death  she  gave  legacies  to  various  charitable  purposes : 
;^ioo  to  five  Fethard  priests  for  masses;  ^^300  to  the 
Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith ;  £2^  to 
Archdeacon  Kinnane  for  his  chapel ;  £2$  to  Father 
Landy  for  his  chapel ;  ;^50  to  Archdeacon  Kinnane 
for  the  poor ;  and  made  one  Ellen  Smith  her  residuary 
legatee.  Probate  was  taken  out  in  1896,  and  the  notice 
of  these  charitable  bequests  appeared  on  26th  April 
1902.^  The  bequest  of  £^300  to  the  Society  for  the 
Propagation  of  the  Faith  brought  the  matter  into  the 
Rolls  Court.  It  was  there  stated  that  in  June  1888, 
Margaret  '  drew  out  of  the  National  Bank  in  Clonmel 
the  sum  of  ;^300,  and  on  the  same  day  sent  a  bank 
draft  for  that  amount  to  Archbishop  Walsh  of  Dublin. 
A  receipt  was  received,  signed  by  a  Father  Doyle."  In 
July  1894,  when  Margaret  died,  "the  Society  for  the 
Propagation  of  the  Faith  refused  to  recognise  Father 
Doyle's  receipt  as  a  good  discharge  of  the  legacy  given." 

^  Freeman's  Journal,  April  26,  1902. 


ii8  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

And  the  case  thus  came  into  Court,  I  am  quite  con- 
vinced that  there  was  an  adequate  explanation.  The 
report  imputes  nothing  to  any  one.  I  only  regret  if  all 
the  ^^2400  went  to  religious  people,  and  I  can  only  think 
how  much  good  the  money  might  have  done  if  given 
to  some  healthy,  energetic  young  person  or  persons  in 
a  healthy  land,  where  wits  were  bright  and  brains  were 
busy.  Is  it  not  hard  for  Ireland  to  prosper  ?  Let 
frenzy-feigning  orators  dilate  on  platform  and  in  parlia- 
ment about  everything  and  anything  under  heaven  but 
this  one  thing ;  I  believe  that  it  is  here  in  these  facts 
we  must  seek  out  the  abiding  cause  of  Ireland's  ills. 
Poor  Irish  Party,  "  thou  art  careful  and  art  troubled 
about  many  things.  But  one  thing  is  necessary."  And 
that  one  thing  thou  wilt  not  do. 

"  James  C.  Kelly,  Parkgate  Street,  Dublin,  gentleman, 
deceased,  by  his  will,  made  the  following  charitable 
bequests :  Rev.  John  Nolan,  C.C,  Arran  Quay,  Dublin, 
for  masses,  ^^50;  and  after  the  payment  of  certain 
pecuniary  bequests  therein  mentioned  testator  be- 
queathed the  residue  of  his  property  to  be  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Conference  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  Arran 
Quay,  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor  of  the  parish.  The 
testator  died  on  the  4th  November  1901,  and  probate 
was  granted  to  the  said  Rev.  John  Nolan,  the  executor. 
Dated  8th  February  1902."^ 

Mr.  Kelly,  with  his  little  residue,  standing  at  the  end 
of  things  known  and  looking  forward  into  the  dark, 
gives  ;^50  to  Father  Nolan  to  pray  him  out  of  pur- 
gatory, a  few  other  little  gifts  and  whatever  be  left 
to  the  St.  Vincent  de  Paul's  Society  of  the  parish  in 
which  he  died.  What  else  was  there  for  him  to  do 
with  it  ?  What  mundane  thing  was  left  for  him  to 
take  an  interest  in  ? 

^  Freeman's  Journal,  February  12,  1902. 


KERRY   WEALTH   FOR  THE  CHURCH      119 

Let  u.s  now  consider  a  large  amount  of  money  left  by 
a  Kerry  lady  under  her  will,  every  penny  of  which  gets 
into  the  hands  of  religious  people. 

"Mary  Hamilton,  late  of  Tarbert,  county  Kerry, 
spinster,  deceased,  died  on  the  5  th  of  March  1901,  and 
bequeathed  to  the  Roman  Catholic  bishop  of  Kerry 
;^ioo  for  Peter's  Pence ;  ;i^i  50  for  the  propagation  of  the 
Faith;  ^^150  for  Saint  Brendan's  Seminary,  Killarney ; 
;^3CX)  for  the  Mercy  and  Presentation  Convents  Schools ; 
;^25o  for  Orphanages  and  Magdalen  Asylums  under  the 
care  of  nuns;  to  the  Superior  of  the  Redemptorists  at 
Mount  St.  Alphonsus  in  Limerick,  ^^50  for  masses ;  to  the 
Superior  of  the  Jesuits  in  Limerick,  ;^20  for  masses ;  to 
the  Rev.  Daniel  Foley,  parish  priest,  iJ"20  for  masses ; 
to  the  Superior  of  the  Redemptorists  at  Dundalk,  ^20 
for  masses ;  to  the  Superior  of  the  Dominicans,  Tralee, 
;^20  for  masses ;  to  the  Superior  of  the  Passionists  at 
Mount  Argus,  £20  for  masses ;  to  the  Roman  Catholic 
bishop  of  Limerick,  ;^ioo  for  Saint  Joseph's  Orphanage, 
Limerick;  £\oo  for  the  Magdalen  Asylum,  Limerick; 
^^150  to  the  poor  orphan  children  at  the  Presentation 
and  Mercy  Convent  Schools;  ^^^150  for  the  Orphanage 
under  the  care  of  nuns  other  than  nuns  of  the  Presenta- 
tion and  Mercy  Schools ;  to  the  Treasurer  of  St.  John's 
Hospital  in  Limerick,  i^ioo  for  the  hospital;  to  the 
Archbishop  of  Dublin,  ;^200  for  All  Hallows  at  Drum- 
condra ;  ;i^  1 00  for  the  Hospice  for  the  Dying  at  Harold's 
Cross  under  the  Sisters  of  Charity.  Dated  this  22nd 
day  of  April  1901."  ^ 

In  this  case  ^^2900  is  devised  to  unproductive  uses. 
If  the  objects  of  the  dying  lady's  munificence  were 
only  unproductive  it  would  not  be  as  baneful  a  matter 
as  it  really  is.  But  the  result  of  the  work  of  those 
religious  people,  intentionally  or  unintentionally,  is  the 
stranglmg  of  the  mental  and  physical  vitaUty  of  our 
country ;  and  every  pound  given  to  them  is  not  a 
pound  given  to  a  neutral,  but  to  the  real  enemy  of 

*  Cork  Examiner. 


I20  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

Ireland.  It  would  be  far  better  for  Ireland  if  those 
dying  Irish  people  gave  their  money  to  respectable, 
industrious  Englishmen  and  Scotchmen  whom  they 
had  never  seen,  than  to  leave  it  thus,  for  then  some 
benefit  to  our  native  land  might  flow  from  their 
generosity  at  some  time  or  other. 

The  following  important  will  of  a  Clonmel  lady  is 
worthy  of  our  attention  : — 

"  Mrs.  Margaret  Bourke,  late  of  Clonmel,  county  Tip- 
perary,  widow,  deceased,  who  died  19th  October  1900, 
by  her  will  bequeathed  the  following  charitable  bequests, 
subject  to  a  life  estate  thereby  bequeathed:  To  the 
trustees  of  Miss  Kelly's  fund  for  the  relief  of  deserving 
poor  women  in  Clonmel,  ^^4000;  for  the  same  charity 
her  shares  in  the  Waterford,  Dungarvan,  and  Lis- 
more  Railway  Company;  Rev.  Thos.  M'Donnell,  of 
SS.  Peter  and  Paul's  Chapel,  for  reducing  the  debt 
on  the  church,  ^^300 ;  to  the  reduction  of  the  debt 
on  the  Church  of  St.  Francis,  Clonmel,  ;^20o;  Rev. 
John  Everard,  C.C.,  one  of  her  executors,  SS.  Peter 
and  Paul's,  ;^300,  to  be  by  him  vested  in  such  manner 
as  he  shall  think  tit,  and  the  dividends  or  interest 
accruing  annually  to  be  divided  in  equal  shares  among 
the  priests  of  said  parish,  and  to  be  applied  in  publicly 
celebrating  masses  for  her  intentions;  Rev.  Thomas 
M'Donnell,  for  the  public  celebration  of  masses  for  the 
good  of  her  soul,  .^20;  priests  attached  to  the  Church 
of  St.  Francis,  for  a  like  purpose,  ;^5o;  curates  of 
SS.  Peter  and  Paul's,  for  the  public  celebration  of 
masses  for  her  intentions,  ;i^io  each  ;  Rev.  John  Everard, 
C.C,  SS.  Peter  and  Paul's,  Clonmel,  for  the  public 
celebration  of  masses  for  her  intention,  ;^20 ;  Treasurer, 
St.  Vincent  de  Paul's  Society,  Clonmel,  ;!{^200; 
Superioress  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  Clonmel,  £100; 
same  for  the  sick  poor,  iJ"ioo ;  same,  for  the  maintenance 
and  education  of  twelve  orphans  professing  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion  to  be  admitted  to  the  Orphanage  of 
St.  Michael's,  Clonmel,  £600 ;  same,  for  the  support  of 


CHARITY  IN  CLONMEL  121 

one  orphan,  in  perpetuity  her  property  in  the  Poor  Law 
Union  of  Frankford,  King's  County;  Superior  of  the 
Christian  Brothers,  Clonmel,  ^^"200 ;  Treasurer,  St.  Mary's 
Conference  of  St,  Vincent  de  Paul,  ^100;  Treasurer  of 
the  Diocesan  Benevolent  Fund  for  the  support  of 
invahded  Roman  CathoHc  priests  of  the  diocese  of 
Waterford  and  Lismore,  ;^300;  parish  priest  of  St. 
Nicholas,  Carrick-on-Suir,  for  the  poor  visited  by  the 
Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  her  fee-simple  property 
in  Main  Street,  Carrick-on-Suir,  occupied  by  Miss  Lyons 
at  the  yearly  rent  of  £17  \  same,  for  the  same  purpose, 
^100;  Superioress  of  the  Convent  of  Mercy,  Carrick- 
on-Suir,  ;i^ioo;  same,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Orphanage, 
;i^300 ;  Superior  of  the  Christian  Brothers,  Carrick-on- 
Suir,  ;^ioo;  Superioress  of  the  Presentation  Convent, 
Carrick-on-Suir,  £ioo]  Superioress,  Little  Sisters  of  the 
Poor,  Waterford,  i^200 ;  to  the  Superioress,  Good  Shep- 
herd Convent,  Waterford,  ^^500;  Mater  Misericordiaj  Hos- 
pital, Dublin,  i^500 ;  Superioress,  Hospice  for  the  Dying, 
Harold's  Cross,  Dublin,  i^soo ;  Superioress,  High  Park, 
Drumcondra,  ^^500 ;  Superioress,  St.  Mary's  Asylum  tor 
Female  Blind,  Merrion,  ^^"400;  Superior,  Male  Asylum 
for  the  Blind,  Drumcondra,  i^200 ;  Superioress,  St. 
Joseph's  Asylum,  Portland  Row,  Dublin,  ;^200 ;  Trea- 
surer, Clothing  Society  for  the  Poor  of  Clonmel,  ^25  ; 
Treasurer  of  the  Maternity  Charity,  Clonmel,  £2^, ; 
Treasurer,  Altar  Society.  SS.  Peter  and  Paul's  Parish, 
Clonmel,  ^10.  The  said  Margaret  Bourke  bequeathed 
the  residue  to  her  executors  to  apj^ly  to  any  Roman 
Catholic  charities  in  Clonmel  they  should  deem  jit. 
Dated  this  19th  day  of  June  1901."^ 

Here  we  find  Mrs.  Bourke,  of  Clonmel, leaving  £  1 0,760 
in  cash,  besides  shares  and  other  property ;  and,  except 
Miss  Kelly's  fimd  for  the  relief  of  poor  women,  of  which 
I  know  nothing,  which  takes  ;^4000  and  shares,  all  this 
large  amount  of  property  goes  to  priests,  monks,  and 
nuns ;  and,  in  addition,  the  whole  residue  of  her  estate 

'  Frecmam'a  Journal,  Jane  24,  1901. 


122  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

goes  "  in  charity,"  which  means,  owing  to  the  clerical 
monopoly  in  charities,  that  it  will  go  the  same  road. 
Is  it  any  wonder  that  the  country  should  be  poor  and 
discontented  ?  I  know  of  many  towns  and  districts 
in  Ireland  where  capital  and  stimulus  to  industry  are 
sadly  needed ;  but  in  none  of  them  are  they  more 
wanted  than  in  Clonmel  and  Carrick-on-Suir.  In  1 87 1 
the  population  of  Clonmel  was  10,112;  in  1881  the 
figure  had  fallen  to  9325,  and  in  1891  to  8480;  and  in 
1 90 1  it  has  fallen  still  lower.  And  Carrick-on-Suir 
stands  thus:  1 871, population,  7792;  1881,6583;  1891, 
5608  ;  1 90 1,  less  still.  Oh,  if  this  money,  instead  of 
going  to  enrich  the  flourishing  mendicant's  trade  in 
Ireland,  only  went  to  some  reproductive  purposes  which 
would  infuse  heart  and  courage  into  our  young  people  ! 
But  the  priests  are  masters  of  the  situation.  They 
alone  can  walk  in  when  death  is  nigh  and  dictate  terms 
to  our  broken-spirited  people.  They  alone  have  energy ; 
they  alone  have  power.  And  the  result  is  that  the 
Clonmels  and  Carricks  of  Ireland  go  dwindling  down, 
but  the  priest  goes  mounting  up.  How  often  have  I 
compared  the  priest  to  the  unjust  steward  of  Ireland, 
who  grows  fatter  and  fatter,  while  the  real  owners  of 
the  property,  the  Irish  people,  grow  fewer  and  weaker 
and  poorer  year  by  year  ! 

But  let  us  continue.  Here  is  a  maiden  lady  who  died 
in  Dublin. 

"  Mary  Shortt,  Stamer  Street,  Dublin,  spinster,  de- 
ceased, by  her  will  appointed  the  Rev.  James  Baxter, 
Clondalkin,  parish  priest,  and  Rev.  James  Hickey,  St. 
Kevin's,  Dublin,  Roman  Catholic  curate,  executors, 
and  bequeathed  £2^^  each  to  the  clergymen  attached 
to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  of  St.  Kevin's,  Dublin, 
being  Canon  Connolly,  parish  priest;  Father  Hickey, 
Father    Grimes,   and    Father    Stafford ;    to    the    Rev. 


All  Hallows  College,  Dublin 

"jC2ootoT  Al\  Hallows  at  Dnimcondra,  itc."(pp.  115,  119). 

It  is  for  priests  intended  for  the  foreign  mission,  and  is  managed  by  the  Yincentian 
priests. 


Lawrence. 


St.  Patrick's  Training  College,  Dublin 


This  is  the  Catholic  Training  College  for  male  National  Teachers  in  Dublin,  which  is 
managed  by  the  Yincentian  priests  and  subsidised  by  the  State. 
"To  the  Superior  of  St  Yincenfs,  Philsborough,  &c.,  ;{;2oo"(p.  134). 


EVERY  PENNY  TO  THE   CHURCH       123 

Edward  Holland,  of  the  Carmelite  Priory,  Clarendon 
Street,  Dublin,  £2^\  to  the  Prior  of  the  Carmelite 
Community,  Whitefriar  Street,  ^25  ;  and  i^20  to  said 
Rev.  James  Baxter,  for  masses  to  be  offered  up  publicly 
in  Ireland  for  the  repose  of  the  souls  of  the  deceased 
and  her  deceased  relatives,  and  to  he  offered  as  soon  as 
possible.  And  testator  bequeathed  the  residue  of  her 
property  as  follows :  One-fifth  thereof  to  Mrs.  Daniel, 
whose  name  in  religion  is  Mother  Frances,  of  the 
Presentation  Order,  Terenure,  upon  trust,  to  be  applied 
by  her  for  the  education  of  Irish  Catholic  priests  under 
the  charge  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  Mungret 
College,  Limerick  ;  one  other  fifth  to  the  Superioress  of 
the  Sisters  of  the  Assumption,  Aungier  Street,  Dublin ; 
one  other  fifth  to  the  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  Society,  St. 
Kevin's,  Dublin ;  one  other  fifth  to  the  Hospice  for  the 
Dying,  Harold's  Cross ;  and  the  remaining  one-fifth  to 
the  Superioress  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Faith,  Strand 
Street,  Dublin.     Dated  this  30th  day  of  May  1901."  ^ 

To  be  offered  as  soon  as  possible !  It  reminds  one 
of  those  advertisements  which  say  that  "  all  orders  are 
executed  with  punctuality  and  dispatch."  Thus  all 
this  lady's  property,  be  it  little  or  much,  goes  into  the 
war-chest  of  the  priests'  and  nuns'  army  of  Ireland,  to 
inflate  their  pride  and  strengthen  their  position.  Oh, 
how  many  needy,  struggling,  respectable  people  are  at 
their  poor  wits'  end  trying  to  keep  body  and  soul 
together  within  earshot  of  where  Miss  Shortt  died  ! 
But  she  could  not  hear  their  sighs  or  see  their 
struggles  ! 

This  is  the  will  of  a  Carrickmacross  cattle-dealer,  and 
is  a  curiosity  in  its  way — 

"  Michael  Martin,  Carrickmacross,  cattle-dealer,  de- 
ceased, by  his  will  bequeathed,  amongst  others,  the 
following  legacies :  To  erect  a  tombstone  over  his 
grave  the  sum  of  ;^ioo;  to  the  Rev.  P.  O'Neill,  C.C, 

1  Independent,  June  3,  1901. 


124  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

£io,  for  masses  in  Carrickmacross  Catholic  church  for 
the  repose  of  his  soul ;  to  the  Rev.  Andrew  Maguire, 
CO.,  £io,  for  masses  to  be  celebrated  in  public  in 
Carrickmacross  Catholic  church  for  the  repose  of  his 
soul ;  to  the  Superioress  for  the  time  being  of  the 
Convent  of  the  Bon  Secours  Order,  Falls  Road,  Belfast, 
£io." 

Remarkable  appraisement  of  post-mortem  things : 
;^ioo  for  a  tombstone  by  which  to  be  remembered  in 
his  native  place  ;  £20  to  be  expedited  in  the  next  world 
by  masses,  and  ;^io  to  the  nuns  ! 

Here  is  a  curious  little  will  of  a  Dublin  gentleman  : — 

"John  Lucius  Carey,  deceased,  late  of  137  Frattina, 
Rome,  gentleman,  by  his  will,  possessed  of  an  absolute 
estate  in  fee  of  a  field  on  Dalkey  Hill,  county  Dublin, 
Ireland,  let  on  lease  at  a  rent  of  ^^35  per  annum,  made 
the  bequest  following :  I  give  and  devise  my  said  field 
on  Dalkey  Hill,  and  all  my  estate  therein,  to  his 
Grace  the  Catholic  archbishop  of  Dublin,  and  to  the 
Superioress  of  St.  Michael's  Hospital,  Kingstown,  in 
trust,  to  apply  the  rent  and  profits  for  all  time  for  the 
benefit  of  the  patients  who  shall  come  from  the  parish 
of  Dalkey  to  be  treated  in  said  hospital.  Dated  this 
30th  day  of  September  1901." 

The  following  is  the  will  of  a  county  Dublin  farmer 
who  orders  his  representatives  to  pay  ^12  a  year  for 
five  years  for  masses  for  his  soul,  and  £10  per  annum 
for  improving  the  parish  church : — 

"  John  Brennan,  Lucan,  farmer,  by  his  will  bequeathed 
to  Father  Donegan,  C.C.,  of  Lucan,  or  other  curate  of 
Lucan  for  the  time  being,  the  sum  of  £60  for  masses 
to  be  said  in  public  for  the  repose  of  his  soul  by  yearly 
payments  extending  over  five  years ;  to  the  parish 
priest,  Lucan,  the  sum  of  ^50,  to  be  expended  on  im- 
proving or  ornamenting  the  church,  payable  by  yearly 
instalments  extending  over  five  years.  Dated  this  28th 
day  of  June  1901." 


A  QUEEN'S  COUNTY  WILL  125 

Here  is  a  will  of  which  it  would  be  hard  indeed  to 
express  approval  : — 

"  John  Dunn,  Ballinakill,  Queen's  County,  and  late 
of  Dublin,  deceased,  by  his  will,  dated  October  10,  1901, 
bequeathed,  amongst  others,  the  following  legacies  to 
have  masses  celebrated  for  the  repose  of  his  soul : 
Rev.  John  Connolly,  parish  priest  of  Ballinakill,  i^io; 
Rev.  William  Murphy,  of  Ballinakill,  ;^io ;  Rev.  Michael 
Scully,  parish  priest  of  St.  Nicholas,  Francis  Street, 
Dublin,  ;£"io;  parish  priest  and  parochial  clergy  of  St. 
Audoen's,  High  Street,  Dublin,  ^10;  parish  priest  and 
parochial  clergy  of  Saints  Michael  and  John's,  Dublin, 
;^io;  parish  priest  and  parochial  clergy,  St.  Kevin's, 
Dublin,  ^10;  Rev.  P.  J.  Clery,  Merchant's  Quay,  Dublin, 
_^io  ;  Superior  of  the  Capuchin  Friars,  Kilkenny,  £10  ; 
parish  priest  of  St.  Audoen's,  High  Street,  ^10,  towards 
the  improvements  being  carried  out  in  said  church ; 
parish  priest  of  St.  Kevin's,  towards  the  improvements 
being  carried  out  in  said  church,  £10;  Little  Sisters  of 
the  Assumption,  Camden  Street,  Dublin,  i^ioo;  St. 
Bridget's  Orphanage,  Eccles  Street,  Dublin,  ^100;  St. 
Clare's  Orphanage,  Harold's  Cross,  ;^ioo;  Orphanage 
at  Lakelands,  ;^ioo;  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  Female 
Orphanage,  North  William  Street,  Dublin,  iJ"ioo  ;  the 
St.  Vincent  de  Paul  Male  Orphanage,  Glasnevin,  ;!f  100  : 
St.  Joseph's  Female  Orphanage,  Mountjoy  Street,  £100; 
Sacred  Heart  Home,  Drumcondra,  ;^20o ;  Father  Scully, 
Francis  Street,  in  trust  for  St,  Brigid's  Schools,  ^^"200 ; 
St.  Joseph's  Asylum,  Portland  Row,  ;^ioo  ;  St.  Monica's 
Widows'  House,  Belvidere  Place,  i^ioo;  St.  Joseph's 
Night  Refuge,  Brickfield  Lane,  Dublin,  i^ioo;  Home 
for  Penitents,  Sisters  of  Charity,  Donny brook,  ;i^ioo  : 
High  Park  Convent,  Drumcondra,  ^  1 00 ;  Magdalen 
Asylum,  Lower  Gloucester  Street,  Dublin,;^  100;  Merrion 
Asylum  for  the  Blind,  ^100;  Cabra  Asylum  for  the 
Deaf  and  Dumb,  iJ^  100;  Hospice  for  the  Dying,  Harold's 
Cross,  ;^ioo;  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  Society,  St.  Kevin's, 
;^iC)o;  and  appointed  the  Rev.  James  Hickey,  Roman 
Catholic  clergyman,  and  Michael  O'Brien  his  executors,"  ^ 

1  Freeman  s  Journal,  February  I2,  1902. 


126  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

;€^2  200  is  such  a  large  sum  for  a  man  from  Ballina- 
kill  in  the  Queen's  County,  come  evidently  to  end  his 
days  in  Dublin,  to  leave  to  religious  bodies.  How  much 
good  might  not  that  money  have  done  in  the  district 
of  Ballinakill !  How  much  might  it  not  do  in  Dublin  ! 
As  we  proceed  with  the  small  collection  of  miscalled 
charitable  wills  which  I  give  in  this  chapter  we  shall 
wonder  what  the  clerical  army  does  with  all  its  money ; 
but  we  must  postpone  the  consideration  of  that  ques- 
tion until  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

This  is  the  will  of  a  Bray  mariner  : — 

"  James  Mulligan,  late  of  Bray,  mariner,  deceased, 
who  died  in  May  1901,  and  bequeathed  the  following 
charitable  legacies :  £100  to  the  Hospice  for  the 
Dying,  Harold's  Cross  ;  i^  100  to  the  Mater  Misericordise 
Hospital;  ^100  to  St.  Vincent's  Hospital,  Stephen's 
Green,  Dublin.  And  the  said  testator  appointed  Hugh 
Mulligan,  the  Rev.  C.  Cuddihy  of  Enniskerry,  P.P.,  and 
the  Rev.  Richard  F.  Colohan  of  Bray,  C.C,  executors  of 
his  will." 

Thus  this  mariner  appoints  two  priests  as  executors, 
and  leaves  ;^300  to  the  nuns,  and,  so  far  as  this  adver- 
tisement reveals,  nothing  for  masses.  But,  then,  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that,  even  if  we  went  over  the 
files  of  the  Commissioners  of  Charitable  Donations  and 
Bequests,  since  the  inception  of  that  office,  and  gave  a 
total  of  the  amount  received  in  legacies  by  the  Irish 
priests  and  nuns,  it  would  give  the  reader  no  adequate 
idea  of  the  entire  sum  of  money  received  by  them  in 
that  period.  For  a  great  deal  of  money — I  do  not  say 
it  is  so  in  this  particular  case — is  given  in  the  form  of 
gifts  inter  vivos,  and  that  is  free  from  all  comment,  pub- 
licity, and  duty.  The  habit  of^thus  giving  money,  near 
death,  is  on  the  increase,  and  priests  influence  the  tes- 


TWO  LITTLE  GIRLS  127 

tators,  where  they  can  safely  do  so,  to  give  rather  than 
to  bequeath. 

The  next  will  is  that  of  an  unmarried  lady,  and  the 
total  amount  under  it  given  to  priests  and  nuns  is 
considerable : — 

"  Elizabeth  O'Hara,  Clontarf,  spinster,  deceased,  died 
on  the  9th  December  1901,  by  her  will  bequeathed 
the  following  charitable  legacies,  viz.:  (i)  That  in  the 
event  of  the  death  of  the  two  ladies  in  said  will 
particularly  mentioned,  under  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years,  a  legacy  of  ;i^iooo  thereby  bequeathed  by  the 
testatrix  to  them  should  go  to  the  Superioress  of  the 
Vincentian  Orphanage,  North  William  Street,  Dublin. 
(2)  Superioress  of  the  Hospice  for  the  Dying,  Harold's 
Cross,  ;^5o.  (3)  Superioress  of  the  Little  Sisters  of  the 
Poor,  ^50.  (4)  Superioress,  Children's  Hospital,  Temple 
Street,  Dublin,  ;^50.  (5)  Superioress  of  St.  Mary's 
Asylum  for  the  Blind.  Merrion,  ^^'50.  (6)  Executors, 
to  expend  among  the  Poor  in  the  City  of  Dublin  as 
they  in  their  discretion  might  select,  £100.  (7)  Rev. 
Charles  Malone,  C.C,  Rathgar;  to  the  Rev.  Canon 
Fricker,  P.P.,  Rathmines;  and  to  the  curate  of  the 
parish  where  she  might  reside  at  the  time  of  her  decease, 
the  sum  of  ;^io  each,  on  condition  that  they  celebrate 
masses  in  the  parish  church  or  chapel  in  their  district 
dedicated  to  the  use  of  the  public,  for  the  repose  of  her 
soul,  jC^o.     Dated  this  31st  day  of  January  1902." 

;^iooo  conditionally  on  the  death  of  two  little  girls 
before  reaching  the  age  of  twenty-one;  and  ;!C2  30 
absolutely.  The  additional  bequest  of  £100  to  her 
executors  is,  of  course,  unimpeachable ;  they  are  both 
lay  people ;  indeed,  such  an  act  of  charity,  and  covering 
so  moderate  an  amount,  is  one  of  the  ways  in  which  a 
dying  person  most  naturally  tries  to  do  a  little  kindness 
before  saying  good-bye  to  the  world. 

And  under  the  will  of  the  following  lady  also  what  a 
large  amount  of  money  finds  its  way  to  the  nuns  : — 


128  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

"  Ellen  Murphy,  deceased,  Ballybrack,  by  her  will  be- 
queathed the  following  charitable  legacies  :  Superioress 
of  St.  Mary,  Stanhope  Street,  ;^5o;  Superioress  of  St. 
Vincent's  Hospital,  ^^50 ;  Superioress  of  the  Blind 
Asylum,  Merrion,  ^50;  Superioress  of  St.  Joseph's 
Hospital  for  Children,  ^^50 ;  Superioress  of  the  Mag- 
dalen Asylum,  Donnybrook,  ^^50;  Superioress  of  St. 
Joseph's  Orphanage,  Mountjoy  Street,  ;^5o;  Treasurer 
of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul's  Society,  i^5o;  Superioress  of 
St.  Clare's  Orphanage,  Harold's  Cross,  ^50;  Superioress 
of  St.  Joseph's  Asylum,  Portland  Row,  ^50 ;  Treasurer 
of  the  Royal  Hospital  for  Incurables,  Donnybrook,  ;^50 ; 
Superioress  of  St.  Joseph's  Night  Refuge,  £so\  Supe- 
rioress of  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  Institution  at  Cabra,  ^^50 ; 
Treasurer  of  the  Room-keepers'  Society,  ;^5o ;  Superior 
of  the  Christian  Brothers'  School,  Westland  Row,  £^0 ; 
Superioress  of  the  Dominican  Convent,  Eccles  Street, 
;^50  ;  Superioress  of  St.  Mary's  Penitent  Retreat,  Lower 
Gloucester  Street,  £^0.  Dated  this  4th  day  of  July 
1 90 1." 

Out  of  the  ;£^8oo  thus  disposed  of  in  "charity,"  the 
nuns  take  £600,  the  Christian  Brothers  get  ^^50  ;  and 
three  general  charities  under  representative  manage- 
ment, namely,  the  Incurable  Hospital,  the  Room- 
keepers'  Society,  and  the  Vincent  de  Paul  Society,  get 
-^150.  I  see  no  objection  to  giving  moderate  sums  like 
this  to  representative  charities  in  which  the  manage- 
ment is  vested  in  elective  committees,  and  in  which 
accounts  are  duly  presented. 

The  next  will  is  also  that  of  an  unmarried  lady,  who 
hands  over  ^^^50  to  an  unnamed  priest  for  masses  : — 

"  Kate  Roche,  St.  Mary's  Road,  Dublin,  spinster,  de- 
ceased, who  died  on  17th  January  1902,  by  her  will 
bequeathed  the  sum  of  ^^50  for  masses  for  the  repose 
of  her  soul.     Dated  this  25  th  day  of  February  1902."  ^ 

•  Freeman! s  Journal,  Marcli  12,  1902. 


DUBLIN  FARMER'S  WILL  129 

Of  all  forms  of  charity  I  consider — and  despite  the 
disclosures  in  this  chapter,  I  think  it  is  the  general  sense 
of  the  community — that  a  bare  bequest  of  money  for 
masses  is  the  most  objectionable. 

Let  us  next  examine  the  will  of  another  county 
Dublin  farmer : — 

"John  Reilly,  Santry,  farmer,  who  died  21st  De- 
cember 1 90 1,  by  his  will  bequeathed  Rev.  Bernard 
Reynolds,  CO.,  Fairview,  ^50  for  masses  for  the  repose 
of  his  soul  and  the  souls  of  the  deceased  relatives  ;  Rev. 
Joseph  Caffrey,  C.C.,  Fairview,  ^50  for  the  like  pur- 
pose; Rev.  Patrick  Brennan,  CO.,  Fairview,  ^^50,  for 
the  like  purpose;  Blind  Institution,  Drumcondra,  ;!^5o; 
Superioress,  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor,  ^50  ;  Superioress, 
Hospice  for  the  Dying,  ;^5o;  Superior,  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul's  Male  Orphanage,  ;^50 ;  parish  priest  of  Bally- 
mun  Chapel,  for  the  maintenance  of  same,  ^100; 
Superior  of  Holy  Cross  College,  Clonliflfe,  ;^ioo; 
Superior  of  All  Hallows  College,  Drumcondra,  ^100 ; 
Superioress  of  North  William  Street  Female  Orphanage, 
£So;  Superioress  of  St.  Bridget's  Female  Orphanage, 
Eccles  Street,  ;^5o;  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul, 
for  the  relief  of  the  poor,  ;^5o.  And  he  directed  that 
in  the  event  of  any  of  the  foregoing  charitable  legacies 
failing  from  any  cause  whatever,  the  same  should  go  to 
and  belong  to  the  superiors  or  superioresses,  as  the 
case    may    be,   absolutely,  of   such   institutions.     And 

Jrobate    was   on   the    3rd    February  1902    granted   to 
ohn  Duff  and  the  Reverend  Bernard  Reynolds,  C.C., 
the  executors.     Dated  this  4th  day  of  March  1902."  ^ 

The  total  amount  for  masses  here  is  ;^i50  ;  for  the 
parish  chapel,  ;^ioo  ;  for  priests'  colleges,  ;if2oo  ;  nuns 
take;^2  5o;  Christian  Brothers,  ^50 ;  and  the  repre- 
sentative charity  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  iJ'so. 

The  following  is  the  will  of  a  Dublin  shopkeeper : — 

*  Freeman's  Journal,  March  12,  1902. 


130  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

"  John  M'Call,  Patrick  Street,  Dublin,  deceased,  by 
his  will  bequeathed  the  following  legacies:  Very  Rev. 
M.  D.  Scally,  P.P.,  St.  Nicholas  of  Myra,  Francis  Street, 
Dublin,  £^o ;  Rev.  Robert  J.  Staples,  CO.,  St.  Nicholas 
of  Myra,  ^50;  each  of  the  other  Roman  Catholic 
curates  attached  to  the  said  church,  ;^5,  to  have  masses 
celebrated  in  public  in  Ireland  for  the  repose  of  his 
soul;  Roomkeepers'  Society,  £2$]  Conference  of  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul,  Francis  Street,  £2^  ;  St.  Brigid's 
Schools,  Coombe,  £2^  ;  Rev.  Joseph  Whelan,  missionary 
priest  at  Tremadoc,  North  Wales,  £2^.  Dated  this 
nth  day  of  February  1902."  ^ 

Here  we  find  ;i^iio  or  i^i20  left  for  masses,  ^^50  to 
representative  charities,  £2^  to  nuns,  and  £2$  to  a 
Welsh  priest,  who  is,  doubtless,  an  Irishman. 

Here  is  the  will  of  a  Dublin  widow,  in  which  she 
leaves  ;^ioo  for  masses  and  ;^  5  00  to  the  various  orders 
of  Dublin  nuns  : — 

"  Maria  Read,  Tallaght,  county  Dublin,  widow,  de- 
ceased, who  died  on  the  22nd  day  of  February  1902,  by 
her  will  made  the  following  charitable  bequests,  viz. : 
parish  priest  of  the  Church  of  the  Three  Patrons, 
Rathgar,  £2^  ;  parish  priest  of  St.  Mary's,  Tallaght, 
£2^  ;  Calced  Carmelites,  Aungier  Street,  £2$ ;  Pas- 
sionist  Fathers,  Mount  Argus,  £2^ — all  said  bequests 
being  for  masses  for  the  repose  of  the  souls  of  testatrix 
and  of  her  late  husband,  Nicholas  Read,  and  his  and 
her  parents  and  relatives,  said  bequests  to  be  free  of 
duty ;  Saint  Joseph's  Night  Refuge,  Brickfield  Lane, 
Dublin,  ;^5o;  Sisters  of  Our  Lady's  Hospice  for  the 
Dying,  Harold's  Cross,  Dublin,  £100 ;  Sacred  Heart 
Home,  Drumcondra,  ;^50 ;  Fir  House  Convent,  county 
Dublin,  ;^5o ;  St.  Vincent's  Hospital,  Dublin,  ;^5o; 
Jervis  Street  Hospital,  ^^50 ;  St.  Mary's  Penitent  Re- 
treat, Lower  Gloucester  Street,  Dublin,  £100  \  the  Boys' 
Home,  Drumcondra,  £$0.  Dated  this  8th  day  of  April 
1902." 

*  Freemaiis  Journal,  February  19,  1902. 


WICKLOW  FARMER'S  WILL  131 

Next  let  us  consider  the  will  of  a  county  Wicklow 
farmer : — 

"Bernard  Byrne,  late  of  Ballymurrin,  Kilbride, 
county  Wicklow,  farmer,  deceased,  died  28th  Decem- 
ber 1 90 1,  bequeathed  to  the  Rev,  William  Dunphy, 
parish  priest  of  Barndarrig,  ^^250  towards  improvements 
to  be  effected  on  the  parish  chapel  at  Barndarrig ;  and 
to  Rev.  William  Dunphy  the  further  sum  of  ^^250 
towards  improvements  to  be  effected  on  the  chapel 
at  Kilbride.  The  deceased  bequeathed  the  following 
legacies  for  the  purpose  of  having  masses  celebrated 
in  public  in  Ireland  for  the  repose  of  his  soul  and 
the  souls  of  his  relatives :  Rev.  William  Dunphy,  P.P., 
i^ioo;  Rev.  Peter  J.  Monahan,  Roman  Catholic  curate 
of  Kilbride,  i^ioo;  Rev.  James  Dunphy,  P.P.,  Arklow, 
£100;  Rev.  John  Byrne,  Roman  Catholic  curate,  8ag- 
gart,  county  Dublin,  £100;  Rev.  James  Flavin,  Roman 
Catholic  curate  of  Harold's  Cross,  Dublin,  ;^5o ;  and 
to  the  Rev.  Patrick  Galvin,  Roman  Catholic  curate, 
Westland  Row,  Dublin,  ;i^50.  Testator  also  bequeathed 
to  his  trustees,  Mary  Byrne,  of  Ballymurrin,  Rev. 
William  Dunphy,  Rev.  Peter  J.  Monahan,  and  William 
Byrne,  of  Coolbeg,  county  Wicklow,  ;!^ioo,  to  be  dis- 
tributed by  them  amongst  the  poor  of  Barndarrig. 
Probate  was  granted  to  Rev.  William  Dunphy,  Rev. 
Peter  J.  Monahan,  and  William  Byrne,  three  of  the 
executors.     Dated  this  5th  day  of  March  1902."^ 

£soo  given  away  for  masses  by  this  county  Wicklow 
farmer  ;  and  £  1 00  given  to  four  trustees,  two  of  whom 
are  priests,  for  distribution  amongst  the  poor  of  his 
native  parish!  And,  in  addition,  ;!^ 5 00  handed  over 
to  the  parish  priest  for  the  improvement  of  his  church. 
Is  it  not  appalling  to  find  such  sums  of  money  devoted 
by  such  people  to  such  purposes  in  a  country  where 
the  want  of  capital  to  invest  in  business  and  promote 
industries  is  so  continually  deplored ;  a  country  in  which 

^  Freeman's  Journal,  March  7,  1902. 


132  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

a  light  railway,  however  sadly  needed,  cannot  be  built 
by  local  capital  without  begging  from  the  Treasury  ? 
Wealth  is  accumulating  in  the  hands  of  the  priests ; 
and  men  are  decaying ;  and  ill  fares  our  native  land. 

Here  is  a  particularly  objectionable  form  of  will.  It 
is  hard  to  decide  whether  the  testatrix  or  the  priests 
can  carry  off  the  palm  for  ignorance  and  sordidness — 

"  Anne  Long,  Ratbmines,  widow,  deceased,  by  her  will 
made  the  following  charitable  and  religious  bequests: 
Rev.  John  Leybourn,  Aungier  Street,  Dublin,  to  offer 
120  masses  for  the  repose  of  her  soul,  and  the  souls 
of  her  deceased  parents  and  relatives,  £io ;  Rev.  Peter 
Ward,  same  address,  to  offer  40  masses  for  same  pur- 
pose, £iO]  Canon  Gorman,  Exchange  Street,  DulDlin, 
and  Canon  Fricker,  Rathmines,  to  oSer  20  masses  for 
the  repose  of  her  soul  and  the  soul  of  her  daughter, 
Mary  Jane  Long,  £  5  each ;  Father  Guardian,  Church 
Street,  to  offer  20  masses  for  the  repose  of  her  soul 
and  the  souls  of  her  parents  and  relatives,  ^5  ;  Rev. 
Charles  O'Connor,  Saint  Monica's  Priory,  Dorsetshire, 
to  offer  20  masses  for  her  husband's  soul,  ;^5.  Testatrix 
ordered  that  all  the  foregoing  masses  should  be  cele- 
brated in  public  in  Ireland.  Hospice  for  the  Dying, 
Harold's  Cross,  ^5 ;  Magdalen  Asylum,  Gloucester 
Street,  ;^io;  Roomkeepers'  Society,  ^10;  St.  Vincent's 
Orphanage,  Glasnevin,  2^io ;  Children's  Hospital,  Temple 
Street,  £'^  ;  Maternity  Hospital,  Holies  Street,  ;^5  ;  St. 
Brigid's  Orphanage,  Eccles  Street,  £$ ;  Saint  Clare's 
Orphanage,  Harold's  Cross,  ^5 ;  Magdalen  Asylum, 
High  Park,  Drumcondra,  ^^5  ;  Night  Asylum,  Brickfield 
Lane,  ^^5.  Testatrix  bequeathed  the  residue  of  her  estate 
and  effects,  real  and  j^ersonal,  to  her  executor,  to  dis- 
jpose  of  in  charity  as  he  shoidd  think  fit.  The  said 
testatrix  died  at  Saint  Patrick's  Home,  South  Circular 
Road,  Dublin,  on  the  21st  December  1901,  and  probate 
of  her  will  was  granted  to  her  executor,  the  Rev.  John 
Leybourn,  of  56  Aungier  Street,  Dublin.  Dated  this 
24th  day  of  January  1902."  ^ 

1  Freeman's  Journal,  February  ii,  1902. 


FOUR  MASSES   PER  POUND  133 

£],o  for  I  20  masses,  or  five  sliillings  a  mass ;  ;^io  for 
40  masses;  £$  for  20  masses!  Oh,  you  priests,  how 
long  could  you  continue  to  exist  in  your  present  fat- 
ness, if  the  minds  of  the  people  were  truly  enlightened  ? 
And  a  Carmelite  priest  is  appointed  sole  executor  and 
residuary  legatee  to  this  poor  lady  !  I  know  of  no 
description  of  will  more  objectionable,  from  a  national 
point  of  view,  than  that  will. 

"  In  the  Avill  of  Mrs.  Bridget  M'Donnell,  Newry,  who 
died  on  thb  31st  March  1901,  the  following  bequests 
are  made :  Bishop  M'Givern,  of  Dromore,  ;^20 ;  Rev. 
James  Carlin,  ;^io — in  each  case  for  masses  for  repose 
of  the  souls  of  testatrix  and  her  brother,  Thomas  James 
Coleman ;  Prior  of  the  Friars  Preachers  of  Newry,  iJ^20 
for  masses  for  same  purpose;  Lord  Abbot  of  Mount 
Melleray,  ^^"50  for  masses  for  the  repose  of  the  soul  of 
testatrix's  brother,  Thomas  James  Coleman,  and  to  the 
Lord  Abbot  a  further  sum  of  ^^"50  for  masses  for  the 
repose  of  the  soul  of  testatrix ;  and  to  the  Lord  Abbot, 
the  further  sum  of  ;^ioo  for  masses  for  the  repose 
of  the  souls  of  testatrix's  husband,  Peter  M'Donnell; 
testatrix's  father,  Bernard  Coleman  ;  testatrix's  mother, 
sisters,  and  brothers  ;  all  said  masses  to  be  said  in  public 
in  Ireland ;  Superior  of  the  Christian  Brothers,  Newry, 
^icx);  Superioress,  Convent  of  Mercy,  Newry,  ^20; 
Abbess,  Convent  of  Saint  Claire,  Newry,  i^2o;  free  of 
legacy  duty  (if  any  such  duty  should  be  payable)." 

Here  we  find  this  Catholic  Newry  lady  giving  ;^200 
away  from  her  native  town  to  the  Abbot  of  Mount 
Melleray  for  various  masses;  and  £^50  in  addition  for 
masses  to  the  local  clergymen,  which  gives  us  an  index 
of  the  spirit  pervading  Catholic  Newry.  In  all  she  gives 
;^400  to  religious  folk,  which  might  have  been  well 
placed  elsewhere  for  the  benefit  of  Newry  and  of  the 
country. 

Here  is  a  will  made  by  a  Meath  farmer,  in  which  he 


134  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

gives  the  vast  sum  of  £600  for  masses  for  his  own  soul 
and  those  of  his  relatives ;  ;^  1 00  for  new  altar-rails ; 
and  gives  all  the  residue  of  his  property  to  the  Navan 
Sisters  of  Mercy ! 

"  The  following  charitable  legacies  have  been  be- 
queathed in  the  will  of  the  late  Mr.  John  Cosgrave, 
Enfield,  co.  Meath,  farmer:  the  parish  priest  of  Kill 
and  Jordanstown,  for  masses  for  the  repose  of  his  soul 
and  the  souls  of  his  parents  and  his  brother  Patrick, 
£600;  for  erecting  new  altar-rails  in  Jordanstown 
Chapel,  ;^ioo;  for  an  office,  month's  mind,  and  twelve 
months'  mind,  for  the  repose  of  his  soul,  ;^5o;  the 
masses  to  be  celebrated  for  said  sum  of  £600  in  a 
public  church  or  public  churches  in  Ireland,  and  open 
to  the  public  at  the  time  of  celebration ;  and  he  put  it 
as  an  obligation  on  the  parish  priest  to  give  ;^ioo 
thereof  to  the  Rev.  Peter  Coffey,  then  of  Maynooth 
College,  to  celebrate  masses,  and  in  a  public  church  in 
Ireland  as  aforesaid.  Testator  bequeathed  the  residue 
of  his  estate,  after  payment  of  debts,  legacies,  funeral 
and  testamentary  expenses,  to  the  Superioress  of  the 
Convent  of  Mercy,  Navan." 

Here  is  a  brief  report  of  a  suit  in  which  the  will  of  a 
deceased  Dublin  pawnbroker,  whose  assets  seem  to  have 
been  only  sworn  at  ^^7499,  is  in  question — 

"  The  action  was  brought  by  the  Rev.  Tobias  Walsh,  P.P., 
Freshford,  co.  Kilkenny,  against  Gaynor  and  others,  to 
have  the  trusts  of  the  will  of  Jane  O'Carroll  carried  out, 
and  for  a  declaration  as  to  the  validity  of  certain  chari- 
table bequests  affecting  real  estate.  The  deceased  had 
three  pawn-offices,  and  these  businesses  formed  the  chief 
assets.  She  left  to  the  parish  priest  of  Tullamore,  ;^20o ; 
to  the  Superioress  of  the  Hospice,  Harold's  Cross,  the 
Superior  of  Mount  Melleray,  the  Superior  of  Mount  St. 
Joseph's,  Roscrea,  to  the  Franciscan  Friary,  Kilkenny, 
to  the  priest  of  St.  Patrick's,  Kilkenny,  to  the  Superior 
of  St.  Vincent's,  Phibsborough,  and  of  the  Vincentian 
Monastery,  Sunday's  Well,  and  of  the  Star  of  the  Sea, 


REVELLING  IN   CHARITIES  135 

Sandymount,  the  Franciscan  Order,  Church  Street, 
Dublin,  and  to  the  Jesuit  Order,  Gardiner  Street,  each 
;^2CXD  for  7nasses  for  the  rejwse  of  the  souls  of  herself 
and  of  Iter  husband.  She  also  bequeathed  to  Rev. 
Father  Walsh  ;^  100  for  his  parish,  and  ;^ioo  for  masses. 
She  left  i^200  to  the  Bishop  of  Ossory,  the  Dean  of 
Ossory,  and  the  administrator  of  St.  Mary's,  Kilkenny, 
for  a  week's  masses  in  each  year.  She  left  ;i^200  to 
the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith,  the  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul  Society,  Kilkenny,  and  the  Stanhope 
Street  Orphanage,  Dublin,  and  to  the  Almshouse, 
Kilkenny,  the  Sisters  of  the  Poor,  Kilmainham,  and  to 
their  branch  in  Waterford;  and  ;i^500  to  the  Mercy 
Convent  in  Castlerea.  She  revoked  this  bequest,  chang- 
ing it  to  ^100.  She  subsequently  reduced  most  of  the 
;^200  legacies  to  £1^0,  and  the  others  to  £100.  By 
other  codicils  she  reduced  the  legacies  still  further. 
Her  assets  were  sworn  at  ^7499.  The  Master  of  the 
Rolls  granted  the  decree  to  have  the  trusts  carried  out, 
and  an  inquiry  as  to  debts,  legacies,  and  the  personal 
estate." 

It  is  evident  that  this  lady  was  positively  revelling 
before  her  death  in  making  a  selection  between  the 
vast  number  and  variety  of  religious  bodies  to  whom 
she  might  leave  her  ;^70oo.  That  was  what  the  lady's 
mind  was  busy  about — as  if  it  should  avail  her  any- 
thing ! 

The  case  of  Bishop  Healy  r.  The  Attorney-General 
is  interesting  as  showing  the  generosity  of  the  Irish 
Catholic  gentleman  of  forty  or  fifty  years  ago.  Dominick 
Joseph  Brown,  of  Killimer  Castle,  co.  Galway,  made 
his  will  in  1845,  and  bequeathed  his  real  estates  in 
Galway  and  Mayo,  and  his  freehold  and  leasehold 
property  successively  to  his  sisters,  and  if  they  died 
unmarried  and  without  issue,  he  bequeathed  his  estate 
to  the  Catholic  bishop  in  esse  of  the  diocese  of  Clonfert, 
to  the  parish  priest  in  esse  of  Clonfert  parish,  to  the 


136  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

prior  in  esse  of  the  convent  at  Esker,  and  two  others 
in  trust.  He  directed  that  one-third  of  the  annual 
income  be  yearly  and  equally  dispensed,  thus : — 

"  One- half  of  one-third  to  be  given  share  and  share 
alike  to  the  parish  priest  of  Killimer-Daly,  and  to  the 
convent  of  Esker  for  the  celebration  of  the  adorable 
sacrifice  of  the  mass  for  the  eternal  repose  of  the  souls 
of  my  parents,  sisters,  and  relatives,  and  mine  own,  and 
a  solemn  high  mass  to  be  offered  up  annually  on  the 
anniversary  of  my  death,  both  in  the  parish  chapel  of 
Killimer  and  in  the  chapel  of  the  convent  of  Esker; 
the  other  half  of  said  third  I  desire  to  be  dispensed 
in  alms  for  the  relief  of  the  distressed  poor  of  the 
parish,  and  all  those  who  from  comfort  have  been 
reduced  to  affliction  and  penury.  The  second  third 
of  such  income  I  desire  to  be  applied  to  the  support 
of  the  free  school  of  Esker  Convent,  thereby  enabling 
the  school  to  acquire  and  possess  a  more  extended 
capability  of  bestowing  a  more  literary,  scientific,  and 
industrial  system  of  education  on  the  pupils.  The  last 
third  of  my  income  I  give  to  my  trustees  to  found  an 
asylum  for  men  of  genteel  parentage,  who  were  at  one 
time  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  respectable  position  of 
society,  but  whom  the  reversities  of  life  reduced  to  a 
fallen  state  of  poverty  or  destitution;  and  it  is  my 
will  that  my  residence  of  Kilhmer  Castle  shall  be 
converted  into  said  asylum,  and  that  the  produce  and 
profits  of  the  demesne  lands  of  Killimer  and  Lenamore 
be  solely  applied  to  the  maintenance  of  the  said  estab- 
lishment." 

He  gave  certain  legacies  to  relatives,  and  appointed 
his  sister  Margaret  his  residuary  legatee,  and,  if 
she  died  unmarried,  then  his  sister  Frances.  He 
died  in  1878,  his  sister  Margaret  dying  before  him. 
Frances  survived  him,  but  she  was  of  unsound  mind, 
and  died  in  1899.  Neither  sister  ever  married.  The 
rents  of  the  lands  now  subject  to  the  trusts  amount  to 


A   GENTLEMAN'S   WILL  137 

;^362,  i8s.  lod./  it  is  stated,  and  our  bishop  is  anxious 
to  know  what  claim  he  has  on  the  estate.  How  dif- 
ferent the  sentiments  of  that  will  are  from  the  sordid, 
huckstering:  wills  we  have  been  considerinor.  How  re- 
freshing  it  is  to  contemplate  old  Mr.  Brown's  way  of 
looking  at  things  compared  with  the  views  of  these 
other  terrified  testators.  One-sixth  of  his  property- 
left  in  a  generous  way  for  masses  for  all  his  friends, 
and  for  himself  last  of  all  ;  and  five-sixths  left  in  con- 
siderate charities  to  his  poor  and  reduced  neighbours, 
giving  up  his  house  and  lands  for  the  purpose.  Truly 
we  are  not  improving  in  Catholic  Ireland. 

Even  in  England  we  find  our  Catholics  pursuing  the 
same  policy  in  disposing  of  their  property,  as  our  poor 
people  at  home  : — 

"  Clara  Burke,  deceased,  by  her  will  bequeathed  ^^50 
to  Rev.  W.  J.  Hogan,  for  the  Roman  Catholic  schools  of 
Crayford ;  ;^5o  to  Rev.  W.  J.  Hogan,  to  be  distributed 
by  him,  according  to  his  discretion,  amongst  the  poor 
of  Crayford ;  ;^5o  to  the  parish  priest  of  St.  Michael 
and  John's  parish,  Dublin,  to  be  distributed  amongst 
the  poor  of  said  parish ;  £^0  for  the  celebration  of 
masses  in  public  in  Ireland,  for  the  intentions  in  said 
will  expressed;  ;^  100  to  the  National  Maternity  Hos- 
pital, Holies  Street,  Dublin.  Dated  this  21st  day  of 
December  1901." 

The  Dublin  Chancery  Coiu-ts  are  full  of  such  cases 
as  the  following  : — 

"  In  the  Chancery  Division,  yesterday,  before  the 
Master  of  the  Rolls,  the  case  of  Rogers  v.  Duffy  was 
in  the  list.  It  appeared  that  in  this  matter  a  bequest 
for  masses  of  ;i^20O  to  be  invested,  and  ;^3  a  year  paid 
thereout  to  the  parish  priest  and  curate  of  Kilsallan, 
in  the  county  Louth,  was  contained  in  the  will  of 
Catherine  Ma^rath,  deceased." 

^  Preevians  Journal^  February  14,  1902. 


138  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

"His  lordship  was  applied  to  for  directions  as  to 
what  should  be  done  in  relation  to  two  several  sums 
of  ^^852,  4s.  5d.  Bank  of  Ireland  stock,  and  ^^702,  i6s. 
consols.  These  sums  were  both  standing  in  the  books  of 
the  Bank  of  Ireland  in  the  name  of  the  lunatic  who  was 
the  surviving  trustee  of  five  gentlemen.  The  late  Bishop 
Leahy  of  Dromore  died  in  1 890,  and  the  dividends  until 
his  death  had  been  paid  to  him,  and  none  has  been  paid 
since  1895,  when  the  estate  came  under  the  control  of 
the  Court.  The  dividends  thus  received  were  applied 
by  him  to  saying  masses  for  repose  of  the  souls  of 
Charles  Rooney  and  Bridget  M'Cann,  who  are  long 
since  dead."  ^ 

The  proceedings  in  the  law  courts  of  any  country  are, 
more  or  less,  a  reflection  of  the  business  of  the  country ; 
and,  from  this  point  of  view,  the  proceedings  in  our 
Irish  courts  clearly  show  that  religion,  or  priestcraft, 
as  some  people  call  it,  is  one  of  the  great  businesses, 
if,  indeed,  it  is  not  the  greatest  business,  left  to  us 
in  Roman  Catholic  Ireland. 

"Counsel  applied  in  reference  to  the  sum  of  £1000 
payable  out  of  an  estate  to  Dr.  Walsh,  Archbishop  of 
Dublin,  and  Mr.  Martin  Walsh,  for  the  purposes  in  the 
will  mentioned.  The  ground,  including  land,  was  value 
for  about  ;^4O0O,  and  the  matter  had  been  three  years 
since  referred  to  Chambers,  and  he  asked  for  interest  on 
the  legacy."  2 

"  To-day  in  King's  Bench  before  the  Lord  Chief  Baron 
and  a  jury,  the  case  of  Riordan  v.  O'Riordan  and  another 
was  set  down  for  hearing.  This  was  an  action  in  which 
Mrs.  Bridget  Riordan,  widow  of  the  deceased,  was  the 
plaintiff,  and  the  defendants  were  the  Rev.  Eugene 
O'Riordan,  P.P.,  Ballindangan,  brother,  and  the  Rev. 
John  O'Riordan,  C.C,  Cloyne,  nephew,  of  the  deceased, 
Patrick  John  Riordan,  butter  merchant,  who  died  on 
1 7th  November  1900.    The  Rev.  Eugene  O'Riordan,  P.P., 

^  Freeman's  Journal,  March  25,  1902. 
^  Ibid.,  March  24,  1902. 


THE  LAY  NEXT-OF-KIN?  139 

was  the  only  surviving  brother  of  the  testator.  Two 
other  brothers  were  dead,  leaving  issue.  The  Rev,  John 
O'Riordan  was  the  son  of  one  of  the  deceased  brothers. 
There  were  four  children  of  one  brother  and  one  of  the 
other  brother.  The  testator  had  three  sisters,  two  of 
them  married,  and  one  unmarried.  The  two  married 
ladies  had  families.  The  unmarried  sister  was  advanced 
in  life.  Immediately  before  his  death,  and  before  making 
the  will,  the  testator  provided  i^soo  for  the  unmarried 
sister.  He  had  more  than  i^  12,000  to  dispose  of.  He 
secured  ;^  1 80  a  year  for  life  to  his  wife,  with  reversion 
to  Rev.  Eugene  O'Riordan  on  her  death.  He  had  already 
arranged  to  give  her  a  thousand  pounds.  The  rest  of 
the  assets  were  left  to  the  defendant,  the  Rev.  Eugene 
O'Riordan,  with  the  exception  of  ;^ioo  left  to  the 
Rev.  John  O'Riordan.  The  jury  found  in  favour  of 
the  Avill."! 

There  was  no  deficiency  of  lay  next-of-kin  in  this 
case ;  and  we  may  rely  upon  it  that  it  is  so  also  in 
many,  if  not  in  most,  of  those  similar  cases  which  are 
occurring  by  the  thousand  every  year  in  Ireland. 
Whither  will  such  a  course  of  procedure  lead  us  ? 
Alas,  our  destination  is  but  too  manifest !  Other 
countries  have  travelled  the  same  road  before  us. 

The  following  is  the  will  of  a  Dublin  widow  Avho 
leaves  no  less  than  £700  in  charity,  defining  nuns  as 
the  recipients  of  the  bulk  of  it,  leaving  some  to  the 
discretion  of  her  executrix,  and  leaving  the  residue 
of  her  property  to  charity  also : — 

"  Mary  Harper,  Upper  Gardiner  Street,  Dublin,  widow, 
deceased,  by  her  will  directed  her  executrix  to  pay 
the  sum  of  ;^200  for  religious,  pious,  or  charitable  pur- 
poses in  Ireland  in  her  uncontrolled  discretion.  And 
also  bequeathed :  Hospice  for  the  Dying,  Harold's 
Cross,  ;^ioo;  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor,  ;^ioo.  And 
testatrix  bequeathed  the  residue  of  all  such  property 

^  Evening  Telegraph,  February  14,  1902. 


140  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

of  which  she  should  die  seized  to  be  applied  for  such 
Roman  Catholic  charities  for  the  relief  of  the  poor 
and  the  afflicted  in  the  archdiocese  of  Dublin  as  her 
executrix  should  in  her  uncontrolled  discretion  think 
fit.  Testatrix  bequeathed  Mater  Misericordii3e  Hospital, 
£ioo;  Saint  Vincent's  Hospital,  i^ioo;  Poor  Clares, 
Harold's  Cross,  ;^ioo ;  Superior  of  Saint  Joseph's,  under 
the  care  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  ;^ioo.  Dated  this 
2 1  St  day  of  March  1902." 

Here  is  the  will  of  a  Galway  lady,  two  sisters  and  a 
cousin  of  whom  were  nuns,  and  who  manifestly  reposed 
unbounded  confidence  in  the  Discalced  Carmelites : — 

"  Kate  Blake,  Clare  Street,  spinster,  deceased,  by  her 
will  bequeathed  the  following  charitable  bequests :  Rev. 
Michael  Ryan,  Clarendon  Street,  Dublin,  Roman  Catholic 
clergyman  (in  the  event  of  the  failure  of  the  trusts  in 
said  will  declared  in  reference  to  the  said  sum)  to  be 
applied  by  him  for  such  pious  and  charitable  purposes 
in  Ireland,  as  he  should  in  his  uncontrolled  discretion 
think  fit,  ;^200.  Rev.  Michael  Ryan,  for  masses  for 
the  repose  of  the  soul  of  deceased  and  the  souls  of  her 
deceased  relatives,  to  be  celebrated  in  Clarendon  Street 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  ;^2o.  For  having  the  holy 
sacrifice  of  the  mass  celebrated  at  the  Carmelite  Church 
at  Wells,  in  Somerset,  £\o.  For  having  the  holy  sacri- 
fice of  the  mass  celebrated  in  the  chapel  attached  to  the 
convent  of  the  Female  Order  of  Saint  Dominick,  in  Gal- 
way, i^20.  To  testatrix's  sisters,  Mary  Blake  and  Anne 
Blake,  both  of  the  Dominican  Convent,  Galway,  ;^ioo. 
To  testatrix's  cousin,  Georgina  MacDermott,  of  the 
Convent  of  Mercy,  Galway,  £2^.  Rev.  Patrick  Lally, 
Presentation  Church,  Galway,  for  masses  in  said  church 
for  the  repose  of  testatrix's  soul,  £2^.  Dated  this  20th 
day  of  March  1902." 

It  is  a  very  rare  occurrence  to  hear  of  a  priest  leaving 
any  money  publicly  by  will  to  anybody  nowadays.    They 


A  PRIEST'S  WILL  141 

are  all  supposed  to  be  possessed  of  barely  enough  to 
pay  their  funeral  expenses.     Here  is  an  exception  : — 

"  Rev.  James  Walsh,  late  of  Kilquade,  Wicklow,  parish 
priest,  died  on  the  24th  of  November  1 901,  by  his  will 
bequeathed  the  following  charitable  legacies:  (i)  Rev. 
Laurence  O'Byrne,  for  masses  for  his  intention,  each 
mass  to  be  celebrated  in  a  Roman  Catholic  church  open 
to  the  public  at  the  time  of  its  celebration,  iJ"20.  (2)  To 
the  secretary  of  the  Dublin  Diocesan  Clerical  Fund, 
;^ioo.  (3)  To  his  executors,  for  providing  a  new  bell 
for  the  church  at  Kilquade,  £60.  (4)  Superioress  of 
the  Dominican  Sisters,  Wicklow,  £^0.  (5)  To  his 
executors  for  erecting  Stations  of  the  Cross  in  the 
church  at  Newtownmountkennedy,  ^^30.  (6)  Abbot 
of  Mount  Melleray,  for  the  celebration  of  three  high 
masses  for  his  intentions,  to  be  celebrated  in  a  church 
in  Ireland  open  to  the  public  at  the  time  of  celebration, 
£1^.  (7)  The  residue  of  his  property  to  his  Grace  the 
Most  Reverend  William  Joseph  Walsh,  Archbishop  of 
Dublin,  for  such  charitable  purposes  in  Ireland  as  he 
may  think  Jit.     Dated  this  12th  February  1902." 

The  archbishop  takes  "  the  residue,"  but  it  is  an 
unusual  thing  nowadays  to  hear  of  a  priest  disposing 
publicly  of  even  £27$.  Their  arrangements  are  re- 
duced to  such  a  system  that  they  never  leave  any- 
thing ostensibly.  The  Kilquade  church  is  the  one 
which  comes  into  the  burglary  chapter  in  an  earlier 
part  of  this  work ;  and  Father  Walsh's  will  reaches 
a  high-water  mark  of  public  generosity  in  a  priest. 
Yet  how  trifling  are  his  bequests  for  masses  as  com- 
pared with  the  lay-folk :  only  £1$  to  Mount  Melleray 
and  ;^20  to  a  fellow-priest.  I  should  be  inclined  to  say 
this  priest  was  a  "  decent  "  man,  judging  him  solely  by 
his  will.  It  is  a  good  sign  of  him  to  give  £go  for  the 
improvement  of  his  own  chapel ;  such  an  occiu-rence  is 
not  common. 


142  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

Let  me  give  one  other  priest's  will,  in  which  the 
deceased  clergyman  has  an  insurance  on  his  life  to 
dispose  of,  and  devotes  it  to  church  building.  He 
also,  marvellous  to  relate,  has  a  farm,  and  has  a  vested 
interest  in  his  ground  and  house : — 

"  The  Rev.  Andrew  Quinn,  P.P.,  Riverstown,  county 
Sligo,  Roman  Catholic  clergyman,  deceased,  who  died 
on  30th  May  1901,  by  his  will,  dated  20th  July  1900, 
left  to  the  Most  Rev.  Dr.  Clancy,  bishop  of  the  diocese, 
and  the  successor  of  the  deceased,  the  proceeds  of  the 
policy  of  insurance  for  £600  on  the  life  of  said  Rev. 
Andrew  Quinn — ;{^30O  thereof  to  be  lodged  for  the  fund 
to  erect  the  new  church  at  Riverstown,  and  ;^300,  the 
other  portion,  to  be  divided  in  equal  shares  between 
Riverstown  and  Souey  Chapel  to  repair  and  put  in 
order  these  two  churches.  Testator  also  bequeathed 
the  farm  attached  to  the  residence,  together  with  the 
glebe  ground,  house,  and  appurtenant  buildings,  to  his 
successor." 

Here  is  the  case  of  an  unmarried  lady  dying  at  St. 
Vincent's  Hospital,  who  drives  a  hard  bargain  for  her 
masses :  six  for  a  pound,  three  shillings  and  fourpence 
per  mass ;  who  asks  a  nun  to  expend  £$  \n.  selecting  a 
priest  of  the  nun's  fancy  to  say  masses  for  the  deceased, 
like  a  client  asking  a  broker  to  invest  his  money.  She 
leaves  no  less  than  iJ^400  to  the  Sisters  of  Charity  who 
own  the  hospital;  no  less  than  ^^350  to  other  nuns  ; 
and  ;i^  1 00  to  a  Carmelite  priest : — 

"Lissey  Cogan,  late  of  St.  Vincent's  Hospital, 
Stephen's  Green,  Dublin,  spinster,  deceased,  who  died 
2 1  St  January  1902,  bequeathed  to  her  executors  i^ioo, 
to  be  distributed  by  them  as  soon  as  possible  after 
her  death  to  have  masses  said  for  the  repose  of 
her  soul ;  and  testatrix  further  directed  that  at  least 
six  masses  should  be  said  for  each  £1  sterling: 
(i)  Roman  Catholic  church,  Whitefriar  Street,  £2^; 
(2)  Roman   Catholic   church,  Clarendon   Street,   £10; 


SIX  MASSES  PER  POUND  143 

(3)  to  the  Viacentian  Church,  Phibsboro',  £10;  (4) 
Roman  CathoUc  church,  Upper  Gardiner  Street,  £$  j 
(5)  Roman  CathoUc  church.  Mount  Argus,  Harold's 
Cross,  £$  ;  (6)  parish  priest  of  Blessington,  iJ"20,  one 
half  of  the  masses  to  be  said  in  St.  Mary's  Church,  and 
the  other  in  St.  Bridget's  Church,  both  in  that  parish ; 
(7)  parish  priest  of  St.  Kevin's,  Dublin,  ;^io;  (8) 
Siijjerioress  of  St.  Vincent's  Hospital,  to  get  masses  said, 
jCy,  (9)  parish  priest  of  Rathmines,  ;^5  ;  (10)  Church 
of  the  Oblate  Fathers,  Inchicore,  £$  5  Superioress 
of  St.  Vincent's  Hospital,  for  the  hospital,  i^20o; 
Superioress  of  St.  Teresa's  Monastery,  Harold's  Cross, 
;^50 ;  Female  Orphanage,  North  William  Street,  Dublin, 
£S  )  St.  Joseph's  Asylum  for  Aged  Females,  Portland 
Row,  Dublin,  ;^5o ;  Superioress  of  the  Community, 
No.  64  Lower  Mount  Street,  Dublin,  the  sum  of  £2$; 
Hospice  for  the  Dying,  Harold's  Cross,  ^^50 ;  Superioress 
for  the  Community  of  St.  Vincent's  Hospital,  Stephen's 
Green,  i^200 ;  Blind  Asylum,  Merrion,  ;^5o ;  Children's 
Hospital,  Upper  Temple  Street,  ;^5o;  Superior  of  the 
Carmelites,  Whitefriar  Street,  for  whatever  charitable 
purpose  he  might  think  tit  in  Ireland,  ;^ioo.  Testatrix 
bequeathed  her  furniture  to  the  Superioress  of  St. 
Vincent's  Hospital.  Dated  this  27th  day  of  March 
1902."^ 

They  back  every  horse  in  the  held,  male  and  female, 
Passionist  and  Poor  Clare,  in  the  hope  that  one  of  them 
is  bound  to  win.  Such  seems,  without  irreverence,  to  be 
the  frame  of  mind  in  which  those  terrified  testators  and 
testatrices  contemplate  approaching  death. 

Not  the  least  remarkable  will  in  our  catalogue  is 
this  testament  made  by  a  labouring  man  dying  in  the 
Union  Workhouse  : — 

"Laurence  Fanalan,  late  of  North  WilHam  Street, 
Dublin,  labourer,  deceased,  who  died  at  the  Intirmary, 
North  Dublin  Union,  on  the  19th  October  1 901,  by  his 
will,  dated  the  8th  day  of  March  1901,  bequeathed  to 

^  Freeman's  Journal,  March  27,  1902. 


144  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

(Sister)  Agnes  Barraud,  Superioress  of  the  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul  Female  Orphanage,  North  William  Street,  the 
money  he  had  on  deposit  with  the  National  Bank, 
Limited,  and  all  other  property  of  every  kind  of  which 
he  was  possessed.     Dated  14th  day  of  March  1902." 

It  is  unfortunately  nothing  new  to  find  men  and 
women,  having  money  on  deposit  receipt,  betaking 
themselves  to  the  unions  in  Ireland.  There  is  such 
a  spirit  of  timidity  and  mendicancy  abroad,  that 
people  fly  into  the  workhouse  for  safety  when  they 
could  well  work  outside.  This  poor  man  was  in  the 
infirmary,  and  he  came  under  the  care  of  the  nuns,  and, 
as  we  see,  whatever  he  had  in  the  National  Bank  speedily 
found  its  way  into  the  North  William  Street  treasury. 

Let  us  now  see  how  a  rich  Catholic  disposes  of  his 
money,  a  man  whose  wealth  runs  into  close  on  six 
figures.  The  following  letter  appeared  in  all  the  Dublin 
papers  early  in  1 9  02,  from  the  solicitors  to  the  testator  : — 

"  Referring  to  the  paragraph  which  appeared  in  a 
recent  issue  of  your  paper,  stating  that  probate  of 
Mr.  Oweson  Thomas  Allingham's  will  has  been  granted 
to  his  sister.  Miss  Jane  Allingham,  of  Seafield,  Dolly- 
mount,  Mr.  Allingham,  in  bequeathing  to  his  sister 
;£'50,ooo  to  be  applied  by  her  in  such  religious  and 
charitable  purposes  in  Ireland  as  she  should  select, 
requested  her — but  so  as  not  to  be  binding  her — to 
have  regard  to  a  memorandum  of  testamentary  wishes 
of  equal  date  with  his  will.  Miss  Allingham  (although 
not  bound  to  do  so)  has  very  generously  decided  to 
apply  all  her  brother's  property  in  accordance  with 
his  wishes  as  expressed  in  this  memorandum.  By  this 
document  a  large  number  of  gifts,  amounting  to  about 
iJ^3 3,000,  are  left  to  various  relatives  and  friends  of  the 
testator.  The  only  bequests,  however,  in  which  the 
public  are  concerned  are  those  by  which  the  hospitals 
and  charities  of  Dublin  will  be  benefited,  and  we  have 


SOME   LARGE  BEQUESTS  145 

much  pleasure  in  appending  a  list  of  these  charities, 
with  the  amounts  which  each  will  receive,  viz. : 
Mater  Misericordias  Hospital,  ;^200o;  Jervis  Street 
Hospital,  i^200o;  St.  Vincent's  Hospital,  Stephen's 
Green,  ;[^200o;  Our  Lady's  Hospice  for  the  Dying, 
Harold's  Cross,  ;^20OO ;  the  National  Lying-in  Hospital, 
Holies  Street,  i^2ooo;  Sisters  of  Charity,  Upper  Gar- 
diner Street,  i^2000 ;  St.  Mary's  Asylum  and  Reforma- 
tory, High  Park,  Drumcondra,  ;^200o;  St.  Joseph's 
Night  Refuge  for  Homeless  Women  and  Children, 
Brickfield  Lane,  i^  1000 ;  St.  Vincent  de  Paul's  Orphanage, 
Glasnevin,  i^iooo;  St.  Brigid's  Orphanage,  46  Eccles 
Street,  ;^iooo ;  Sacred  Heart  Home,  Drumcondra,  £600 ; 
Mendicity  Institution,  Usher's  Quay,  Dublin,  i^iooo; 
the  Sick  and  Indigent  Roomkeepers'  Society,  ^1000; 
the  poor  of  Clontarf,  to  be  administered  by  the  Vener- 
able Archdeacon  O'Neill,  P.P.,  ;^300;  the  poor  of  St. 
Michan's  Parish,  to  be  administered  by  the  Very  Rev. 
Canon  Conlon,  P.P.,  ^100.  The  pecuniary  legacies  and 
charitable  bequests  amount  to  about  i^5 3,000,  and  will 
leave  a  residue  of  about  iJ" 3 7,000,  out  of  which  Mr. 
Allingham  expressed  a  wish  that  a  substantial  sum 
should  be  allocated  towards  acquiring  a  site  for — or, 
if  such  a  site  has  already  been  acquired,  towards  the 
erection  of — a  National  Roman  Catholic  cathedral  in 
this  city ;  and  that  another  substantial  sum  should  be 
applied  to  promote  any  approved  scheme  having  for 
its  object  the  better  housing  of  the  destitute  poor  of 
Dublin." 

Under  this  will  the  property  went  to  the  sister, 
accompanied  by  a  direction,  or  wish,  upon  which  she 
acted,  and  the  vast  sum  of  ;^  14,000  was  given  to  various 
orders  of  nuns  in  Dublin ;  ;^46oo  to  representative 
charities,  namely,  the  Mendicity  Institution,  the  Holies 
Street  Maternity  Hospital,  the  Roomkeepers'  Society, 
and  the  Sacred  Heart  Home ;  £  1 000  to  the  Christian 
Brothers ;  and  ^^400  to  two  parish  priests  to  give  in 
charity.     And,  in  addition,  a  large  amount  is  to  go  for 

K 


146  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

building,  or  acquiring  a  site  for,  a  new  cathedral ;  since 
St.  Patrick's  cannot  be  obtained  without  Home  Rule. 

Mary  Coleman,  Kingstown,  widow,  died  on  the  ist  of 
March  1902,  and  bequeathed  the  following  sums  for 
masses:  £i,  to  the  Franciscans,  ;^io  to  the  Augus- 
tinians,  ^10  to  the  Carmelites,  £$  to  Father  Halley, 
"  and  the  residue  of  her  property  of  whatsoever  nature 
or  description  to  the  Rev.  James  A.  Brannan  for  masses 
for  the  repose  of  her  soul,  to  be  said  in  a  place  of  public 
worship  in  Ireland,"  and  appointed  Father  Brannan  her 
sole  executor.^  Kate  Malone,  widow,  of  Enniscorthy, 
died  on  the  3rd  of  February  1902,  and  bequeathed 
iJ^  1 00  to  the  Rev.  John  Dunne,  administrator  of  Ennis- 
corthy, "  for  masses  for  the  repose  of  her  soul  and  her 
husband  and  all  their  deceased  friends";  ;^200  to  the 
Rev.  John  Lennon,  House  of  Missions,  Enniscorthy,  for 
masses  for  the  same  intentions;  and  ^^500  to  Bishop 
Browne  of  Ferns  "  for  the  maintenance  and  education 
of  a  young  man,  or  men,  for  the  priesthood  in  the 
diocese  of  Ferns."  ^  Mary  Fitzgerald,  widow,  Fermoy, 
died  on  the  9th  of  April  1902,  and  appointed  the  Rev. 
Maurice  O'Callaghan,  Fermoy,  her  sole  executor.  She 
left  ;^5o  to  various  convents  and  the  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul  Society,  and  £70  equally  divided  between  seven 
different  priests  for  masses,  and  "  left  the  residue  of  her 
property  of  every  description "  to  Father  O'Callaghan 
for  the  intended  improvements  to  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  at  Fermoy."^ 

It  is  dreadful  to  contemplate  such  waste  of  money ; 
not  in  any  particular  case,  but  in  all  the  little  col- 
lection of  cases  occurring  in  a  small  portion  of 
Ireland  during  the  brief  time  under  our  considera- 
tion.    If  those  people  had  only  spent  their  thousands, 

^  Irish  Times,  May  3,  1902.         ^  Freeman's  Journal,  May  8,  1902. 
3  Ibid.,  May  9,  1902. 


THE   DEAD   HAND  147 

or  some  of  their  thousands,  during  their  lives,  in  pro- 
moting healthy  industries  in  Ireland,  there  would  soon 
be  no  orphans  to  go  into  our  flourishing  orphanages, 
nor  patients  for  the  vast  array  of  our  city  hospitals, 
nor  pauperised  people  to  require  alms.  All  this  chari- 
table debauchery,  I  cannot  think  of  a  better  term,  of 
which  I  have  given  the  merest  sample,  demoralises 
society.  It  does  not  diminish  the  number  of  the  poor, 
or  of  the  orphans,  or  of  those  who  have  "  wounds  with- 
out cause."  It  increases  them.  The  appetite  grows 
with  what  it  feeds  upon.  Patriots  wax  indignant  with 
a  landlord  for  harshly  insisting  on  the  terms  of  his 
bargain,  as  if  he  were  a  Jew  exacting  the  last  farthing  of 
his  bond,  and  they  call  it  "  devil's  work."  But,  oh,  what 
signifies  the  wrong  done  to  Ireland  by  the  harshness  of 
a  creditor  compared  with  the  evil  wrought  by  the  maud- 
lin generosity  and  Deity-bribing  of  those  dying  Irish 
Catholics  ?  Whatever  lapses  those  and  thousands  of 
other  similar  testators  may  have  been  guilty  of  during 
their  lives,  it  is  by  their  miscalled  charity  on  their  death- 
beds that  they  commit  the  greatest  wrong  of  all  to  Ireland. 

The  "  dead  hand  " — that  is,  the  power  of  regulating 
the  disposal  of  one's  property  after  death — is  an  insti- 
tution for  which  we,  in  Catholic  Ireland,  have  little 
reason  to  be  grateful  to  the  law.  Let  a  rich  man  be 
as  beneficent  as  he  will  during  his  life,  no  one  can 
question  his  right,  though  we  may  criticise  his  methods. 
But  beneficence  coming  into  operation  after  the  death 
of  the  benefactor,  particularly  where  it  only  springs 
into  being  when  death  is  in  view,  is  rarely  to  be  com- 
mended. Mr.  Carnegie  sets  rich  men  an  example  of 
what  to  do ;  and  he  is  only  following  in  the  footsteps 
of  another  great  benefactor  of  his  kind. 

It  is  narrated  by  Dr.  Smiles,  in  his  "  Life  of  George 
Moore,"  that  when  Archbishop  Magee  heard  from  the 


148  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

eminent  Ciimberlandshire  philanthropist's  own  lips,  the 
amount  of  money  which  George  Moore  was  in  the 
habit  of  putting  aside  each  year  for  philanthropic  pur- 
poses, the  archbishop  declared  that  it  was  the  largest 
premium  on  insurance  against  fire  which  he  had  ever 
heard  of.  That  was  a  churchman's  jest,  and  has  raised 
many  a  thoughtless  smile.  But  we  may  rest  assured 
that  George  Moore  never  had  any  such  craven  fear  of 
hell,  nor  did  his  philanthropy  spring  from  so  base  a 
source.  The  sum  which  Moore  is  said  to  have  set 
aside  yearly  was,  perhaps,  a  large  one  for  Moore's  day. 
It  was  not  a  personal  insurance  against  fire,  but  a 
personally  supervised  charitable  expenditure  for  the 
betterment  of  Moore's  less  happy  fellow-creatures. 

However  large  it  may  have  been,  its  amount  was  but 
as  a  drop  in  the  ocean  compared  with  the  colossal  sum 
which  the  poor  Irish  Catholics  expend  yearly  during 
life  ;  and,  above  all,  on  their  deathbeds,  upon  the  endow- 
ment of  their  priests,  monks,  and  nuns,  and  on  the 
adornment  of  their  churches.  George  Moore's  philan- 
thropic expenditure  was  the  overflow  of  his  well-earned 
wealth.  But  the  millions  of  our  Irish  church-money, 
priest-money,  monk -money,  nun-money,  and  pope- 
money  are  extracted  from  a  lean  peasantry,  whose 
withers  are  almost  wrung,  and  who  are  wincing  like 
galled  jades  under  the  overpowering  weight  of  their 
priestly  riders ;  while  they  race,  under  whip  and  spur, 
for  a  goal  beyond  which  they  hope  their  spirits  will  find 
rest,  when  the  poor  worn  bodies  which  now  encase  them 
are  crumbling  into  dust. 

And,  unlike  George  Moore's  money,  those  Irish  mil- 
lions are  literally  and  verily  subscribed  and  collected 
as  an  insurance  against  fire — fire  eternal  and  fire  sempi- 
ternal. And,  were  Magee  alive  to-day,  and  were  he 
to  turn  his  thoughts  westward  from  Bishopthorpe  to 


Clom.ikfk  Collegk,  Dublin 

A  spacious  palace  for  the  younj;  priests. 

"To  the  Superior  of  Holy  Cross  College,  Clonliffe,  ^loo  "  (p.  129). 


A    Dur.LiN    Cll.   UK   .^AL 

A  congested  purlieu  for  the  young  people. 

"The  dull  routine  of  their  lives,  from  which  all  Christian  study  and  inquiry  are 
excluded,  &c."  (p.  32=;). 

No  legacies  find  their  way  into  this  retreat. 


THE   MONEY  MAKKET  149 

liis  native  land,  he  might  truly  exclaim  as  he  beheld 
the  golden  column  of  priest-money  rearing  its  shame- 
less, yellow  crest  higher  and  higher  amongst  the  ruined 
huts  of  the  disappearing  Irish  peasantry:  Since  the 
world  began,  this  is  the  biggest  insurance  against  firt  ever 
paid  by  a  nation  in  proportion  to  its  means  ! 

"  It  would  appear  that  the  Pope's  purse  is  not  only  in 
a  healthy,  but  in  a  very  progressive  condition,"  writes 
our  leading  clerical  newspaper.  "In  1 870  the  Holy  See 
had  an  income  of  i^5 00,000  a  year  from  its  foreign 
investments,  while  Peter's  Pence  brought  in  about 
;^2  80,000.  When  Leo  XIII.  came  to  the  Vatican  he  took 
into  personal  consideration  the  financial  arrangements 
which  had  prevailed  under  his  predecessor,  and  placed 
his  funds  in  Italian  investments,  with  the  result  that  he 
will  have  left  the  Church  treasure  in  such  a  position 
that  it  coidd  at  any  moment  play  a  considerable  part  as 
a  financial  power  in  the  Italian  money  market."  ^ 

The  Pope's  example  is  being  followed  by  his  subordi- 
nates in  Ireland,  who  can  at  any  moment  play  an 
effective  part  in  the  Irish  money  market ;  and  not  alone 
in  the  Irish  market,  but  on  the  money  market  in 
England  as  well ;  investing  their  money  here  and  there, 
wherever  it  will  work  an  oracle  for  them ;  mouldintf 
or  softening  public  opinion  in  their  favour  ;  and  com- 
manding that  respect  which  money  nowadays,  no 
matter  how  procured,  seems  able  to  win  for  its  pos- 
sessor. No  man,  it  has  been  said,  can  serve  God  and 
Mammon.  Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  treasures  upon  earth, 
where  moth  and  rust  doth  corrupt,  and  where  thieves  break 
through  and  steal. 

But,  alas  !  who  heeds  the  Son  of  Man  to-day  ?  Our 
priests  are  so  engrossed  in  the  service  of  Mammon  that 
they  cannot  spare  time  for  the  service  of  God. 

>  Freeman'.'^  Journnl,  April  i,  1902. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

IN     CONN A  UGHT 

"  Were  it  not  that  full  of  sorrow  from  my  people  forth  I  go, 
By  the  blessed  sun  1  'tis  royally  I'd  sing  thy  praise,  Mayo  !  " 
— Lavelle  (Irish),  translated  by  Geoege  Fox. 

There  is  a  special  pride  taken  in  the  Gaelic  revival  in 
the  West  of  Ireland,  especially  in  the  county  of  Mayo — 
or,  as  it  is  pronounced  by  the  inhabitants,  the  county  of 
M-yeo — of  which  Ballaghadereen,  a  prosperous  little 
town  in  the  east  of  the  county,  is  one  of  the  capitals. 
Let  us  spend  an  hour  there  in  company  with  "  a  large 
and  fashionable  audience  in  the  Town  Hall."-^  The 
members  of  the  local  branch  of  the  Gaelic  League  are 
to  produce  this  evening  Dr.  Douglas  Hyde's  Irish  trifle, 
entitled  the  "  Testing  of  the  Rope  " — the  literary  mouse 
of  which  the  Gaelic  Revival  Mountain  has  so  far  delivered 
itself  after  agonising  labour.  Hundreds  of  columns  in 
leaded  type  have  been  printed  about  this  "  Cassadh  an 
t-Soogawn "  (I  hope  I  spell  it  correctly),  both  in  the 
Dublin  and  provincial  Irish  Press,  and  even  in  English 
newspapers.  The  poor  mouse  itself  is  not  worth  talking 
about,  but  as  the  mountain  which  produced  it  threatens 
to  stand  between  our  people  and  the  sunlight  of  know- 
ledge and  progress,  let  us  examine  the  mountain. 
Bishop  Lyster  of  Achonry,  whose  palace  and  cathedral 
are  at  Ballaghadereen,  is  in  the  chair.  The  Gaelic 
League  has  been  "  only  eight  months  in  existence  in 
Ballaghadereen,"  but  it "  has  been  remarkably  successful, 
thanks  to  the  energy  and  patriotic  zeal  of  the  Very  Rev. 

^  Freeman's  Journal,  February  3,  1901. 


BISHOP  LYSTER  151 

J.  Daly  and  Rev.  M.  Dogherty,  who  have  spared  neither 
time  nor  trouble  in  the  interests  of  the  language  revival 
here,  and  chiefly  to  whose  work,  with  that  of  some  kind 
influential  friends,  the  success  of  the  entertainment  is  to 
be  mainly  attributed."  We  are  told  that  "  the  Sgoruid- 
heacht  was  certainly  a  treat  not  often  enjoyed  in  a 
provincial  town."  Mrs.  John  Dillon,  wife  of  Mr.  John 
Dillon,  M.P.,  attended,  and  "  played  most  of  the  accom- 
paniments." Bishop  Lyster  "  on  coming  forward  received 
quite  an  ovation."  He  tells  us  "  this  Gaelic  movement 
is  going  ahead.  ...  It  is  easy  enough  to  pull  down — 
any  bosthoon  can  pull  down — but  it  is  genius  and  energy 
can  build  up.  A  few  men  can  in  one  hour  fell  the  giant 
oak  of  the  forest,  Avhich  has  taken  a  century  to  raise.  One 
man  with  the  sweep  of  a  scythe  can  in  the  twinkling  of 
an  eye  cut  down  one  hundred  blades  of  grass,  which 
has  taken  months  to  grow.  Therefore  I  say  the  great 
perfection  of  this  movement  is  that  it  is  construc- 
tive. ...  I  think  we  are  in  the  right  Avay  now.  In  the 
beginning  the  people  were  shaking  their  heads  and 
winking  their  eyes,  but  that  is  past.  The  energy  of  the 
men  at  its  head,  especially  of  the  man,  has  set  the  ship 
going  steadily,  and  it  is  now  forging  through  the  waves 
onward  to  the  goal."  What  is  more :  "  this  movement 
is  organised  and  watched  over,  guided  and  directed 
by  a  number  of  most  unselfish  men."  A  marvellous 
announcement '  "  There  is  one  lady  connected  with  them, 
and  they  have  laboured  night  and  day  to  make  it  a 
success.  They  have  done  yeoman  service  (even  the  lady), 
and  their  labours  have  been  of  a  gigantic  character." 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  belittle  any  genuine  literary 
effort,  but  if  the  bishop  thus  describes  the  "  Soogawn  " 
which  they  were  engaged  in  twisting  that  evening — 
and  which  is  a  mere  squib  of  the  briefest  and  most 
unremarkable  character — then  I  can  only  bow  before 


152  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

the  episcopal  hyperbole.  The  mountain  to-night  is 
represented  by  Bishop  Lyster,  and  he  mentions  five 
names  who  can  all  share  the  glory  of  the  mouse  which 
has  been  produced.  "  I  allude,"  says  Bishop  Lyster, 
"  to  Dr.  Hyde,  Mr.  Edward  Martyn,  Lady  Gregory,  Mr. 
Yeates,  and  Mr.  George  Moore.  One  fact  strikes  me, 
and  that  is,  all  those  five  people  are  residents  and 
natives  of  Connaught."  It  appears  that  this  galaxy  of 
talent,  thus  paraded  before  the  Ballaghadereen  people, 
all  come  from  Mayo  or  the  neighbouring  counties. 
"  These  Connaught  people,"  says  Bishop  Lyster,  "  have 
been  the  means  of  building  up  this  great  movement, 
and  lifting  up  our  national  literature  and  national 
character."  Not  proven,  Bishop  Lyster.  The  Congested 
Districts  School  of  Poetry  is  no  more  fitted  to  lift  up 
national  literature  and  character,  than  the  congested 
districts  are  to  lift  up  the  nation.  Both  requhe  a  lift 
themselves,  neither  of  them  can  give  a  lift. 

"  The  Foxford  Nuns  have  taught  the  little  children 
to  say  their  prayers  and  answer  their  catechism  in 
Irish,"  continues  Bishop  Lyster,  "  and  when  a  child  over 
there  not  the  height  of  my  knee  puts  a  question  in 
Irish  to  me,  I  have  to  look  a  bit  stupid.  A  little  girl 
from  Ballaghadereen,  whom  we  know  as  Winnie,  and 
who  is  now  in  Kiltima^h,  will  answer  to  no  other  name 
than  Oonagh  ! "  Bishop  Lyster  then  goes  on  to  con- 
tradict several  of  Dr.  Hyde's  statements  in  important 
local  particulars,  and  alleges  that  somebody  must  have 
been  telling  Dr.  Hyde  a  "  lie  with  a  thick  skin."  From 
what  I  have  gleaned  of  the  "  Soogawn,"  the  moral  of  it 
would  seem  to  be  that  the  best  liar  was  the  smartest 
man  in  ancient  Ireland.  But  the  bishop  then  doubles 
back  on  his  own  line,  and  overwhelms  the  author  of  the 
"  Soogawn  "  with  such  laudation  as  must  have  made  its 
recipient  feel  ridiculous.     It  shows  how  little  importance 


BISHOP  CLANCY  153 

is  to  be  attached  to  episcopal  flattery  in  Connaiight : 
"  In  expressing  our  thanks  to  the  ladies,  and  above  all 
to  Dr.  Hyde,  I  may  say  that  Ireland  owes  him  a  debt  of 
gratitude.  By-and-by  the  people  will  look  back  on  him 
and  treasure  his  name  as  a  memory,  as  even  now  in 
America  they  look  back  on  Washington."  And  then 
Bishop  Lystcr  winds  up  his  speech — "  Now  in  conclusion 
I  say  to  the  members  of  our  own  branch,  Ballaghadcrccn, 
FatLgh-a-  Ballayh  !  " 

Mr.  John  Dillon,  M.P.,  it  appears,  has  a  country 
residence  near  Ballaghadereen,  and  an  interest  in  the 
wine  and  spirit  and  general  business  of  Monica  Duff 
and  Co.,  of  that  town.  He  is  also  a  Mayo  man,  and  Mrs. 
Monica  Duff"  was  his  aunt.  The  business  of  Monica 
Duff  &  Co.  is  a  thriving  one ;  perhaps  one  of  the  best 
businesses  in  the  West  of  Ireland — hence  the  presence 
of  Mrs.  John  Dillon  on  the  stage.  Duff"  is  one  of  the 
old  Mayo  names — 

'"Tis  my  grief  that  Patrick  Loughlin  is  not  Earl  of  Irrul  still, 
And  that  Brian  Duff  no  longer  rules  as  Lord  upon  the  hill." ' 

There  are  six  bishops  in  this  province  of  Connaught, 
with  its  poor  population  of  622,667  Catholics ;  that  is  to 
say,  as  many  bishops  as  there  are  in  wealthy  Belgium 
with  its  population  of  6,500,000.  Therefore  we  need 
not  be  surprised  at  finding  another  bishop,  in  the  same 
locality,  lending  his  aid  to  this  Connaught  Gaelic  revival. 
Bishop  Clancy  of  Elphin — whom  readers  of  Five 
Years  in  Ireland  will  remember — is  presiding  over 
"  the  annual  closing  of  the  exercises  "  of  the  pupils  of 
the  Ursuhne  Convent,  Sligo  ;  and  it  is  the  Sabbath  day.^ 
"  There  was  one  portion  of  the  entertainment,"  says 
Bishop  Clancy,  "  which  struck  me  as  having  a  peculiar 
interest  for  us  at  the  present  time.     I  refer  to  the  com- 

'  Translation   by  Fox   of  an   Irish   poem   by  Lavelle,  seventeenth 
century.  »  Frefinan's  Journal,  June  27,  1901. 


154  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

positions  in  our  grand  old  Irish  tongue.  Now,  the 
most  competent  judges,  the  professors  of  some  of  the 
most  prominent  universities  and  colleges  in  Europe, 
inform  us  that  so  different  is  the  genius  of  the  Celtic 
family  of  languages  from  that  of  the  Slavonic  and 
Teutonic,  that  there  can  be  no  more  useful  exercise 
than  the  tracing  of  analogies,  contrasts,  and  similitudes 
between  them."  A  very  useful  exercise,  no  doubt,  and 
a  not  unremunerative  one  for  the  "  competent  judges  " 
and  "  professors  "  ;  but  of  what  practical  use  can  it  be  to 
girls  educated  at  the  Ursuline  Convent,  Sligo,  except  to 
mystify  them,  and  to  absorb  time  which  might  be  well 
spent  in  learning  something  useful  ?  Those  of  them 
who  will  not  become  nuns  themselves,  will  have  little 
time  in  after  life  for  "  tracing  analogies,  contrasts,  and 
similitudes."  And  those  of  them — and  they  are  many, 
I  regret  to  say — who  will  become  nuns,  will  be  differ- 
ently employed  under  Bishop  Clancy's  command,  when 
they  have  taken  the  black  veil.  "  And  apart,"  continues 
Bishop  Clancy,  "  from  these  advantages — which  may  be 
common  to  many  languages — there  is  a  peculiar  appro- 
priateness in  possessing  a  knowledge  of  the  Irish 
language  in  Ireland."  Yes ;  if  we  were  able  to  live  in 
Ireland  ;  and  if  we  were  working  with  a  will  and  doing 
well.  But  not  when  we  are  flying  for  life  and  freedom 
to  lands  where  Irish  is  not  spoken.  "  If  the  Irish 
language  were  to  become  extinct,"  he  goes  on,  "  English 
modes  of  thought  and  English  forms  of  expression, 
English  fashions  and  tastes  in  politics,  in  industrial  life, 
and  'possibly,  after  a  time,  in  religion,  would  come  into 
vogue.  .  .  .  And  such  a  prospect  becomes  truly  alarm- 
ing in  the  face  of  the  enormous  exodus  of  our  people 
by  emigration."  Would  to  Heaven  that  "  English  tastes 
and  fashions  in  industrial  life "  came  into  vogue  in 
Connaught :  instead  of  trying  to  prevent  such  a  happy 


CONTRARINESS  AND   CUNNING         155 

consummation,   an   earnest    man    in    Bishop    Clancy's 
position  would  try  to  hasten  it. 

The  religion  is  the  main  point — the  religion  by  the 
profession  of  which  the  clerical  class  prosper  so  exceed- 
ingly in  Catholic  Ireland.  It  is  the  religion  and  its 
professors  who  are  to  benefit  by  the  revival  of  the  Irish 
language.  When  one  reflects  that  the  majority  of  the 
labouring  population  of  this  six-bishop  region  annually 
migrate  to  England  to  earn  there  the  money  to  support 
their  families  (and  their  bishops),  one  can  only  be 
amazed  at  the  contrariness  exhibited  by  the  clerical 
leaders  of  peasant  thought  in  Connaught  in  endeavouring 
to  discourage  the  use  of  English  by  the  people  at  home. 
So  secure  is  Bishop  Clancy  in  his  reliance  upon  the 
docile  obedience  of  his  hearers,  that  he  has  no  hesitation 
in  openly  propounding  the  degenerate  theory  that  the 
noblest  ideal  which  they  can  place  before  themselves  is 
the  livelong  prospect  of  remaining  stuck  in  the  mud  in 
the  bogs  of  Connaught,  chattering  to  each  other  in  a 
language  which  the  world  has  outgrown  and  forgotten, 
and  shutting  out  every  avenue  by  which  enlightemnent 
might  enter  their  minds  from  either  of  the  two  great 
English-speaking  countries  which  are  their  nearest 
neighbours  on  the  east  and  on  the  west.  The  Con- 
naught people — especially  the  inhabitants  of  Mayo — 
are  shrewd,  notwithstanding:  their  ne^clected  intellectual 
condition  and  their  superstitious  modes  of  thought. 
But  their  shrewdness  is  little  better  than  that  of  the 
fox,  which  with  all  its  tricks  and  makeshifts  leads 
reynard  only  to  his  "  earth  "  underground.  The  Mayo 
people  simply  exist,  and  that  under  the  most  adverse 
circumstances,  despite  their  cunning.  Their  youth  fly, 
as  the  result  of  their  shrewdness,  from  the  stifling, 
priest-laden  atmosphere  of  Connaught  to  the  freedom 
of  America  and  Great  Britain.     And,  owing  to  their 


156  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

shrewdness,  those  of  them  who  stay  at  home  make  a 
pretence  of  being  merry  hke  roysterers  at  an  Irish  wake. 
They  have  a  command  of  English,  and  they  can  imitate 
the  humour  of  the  London  music-halls  with  an  ability 
worthy  of  a  better  cause.  A  perusal  of  the  local  papers 
during  an  evening  spent  recently  before  a  turf-fire  in 
the  hotel  at  Westport  supplied  ample  proof  of  this.  A 
Mayo  poet  sings  a  Christmas  carol  entitled,  "  A  Reflec- 
tion. Very  Sad  and  Lugubrious.  Slow  music — hand- 
kerchiefs ready  for  wiping  away  tears  " : — 

"  We're  seated  around  by  tlie  fire — 

Our  thoughts  are  on  ages  ago  ; 

We  think  on  the  days  that  are  buried, 

We  dwell  on  the  frost  and  the  snow  ; 

Ere  our  waistcoats  were  getting  too  narrow  ; 

When  spectacles  weren't  required  ; 

When  we'd  run  forty  miles  since  the  morning, 

At  bedtime  we  wouldn't  be  tired  ; 

Ere  the  humps  decorated  our  shoulders. 

Or  our  knee-hinges  rusty  became, 

And  that  painful,  that  pedal  protub'rance. 

Made  fellows  most  powerfully  lame. 

And  we  ask  if  the  '  kicks '  in  the  '  old  dogs ' 

Are  cancelled  for  ever  and  aye. 

We  wait  not  for  definite  answer, 

We  jump  to  our  feet  and  we  say, 
'  Not  by  long  chalks,  old  chap  !     Yes,  of  course  ;  the  same  again  ! 
Here's  to  your  health,  and  may  you  and  every  reader  of  the  Gon- 
naught  Telegraph  have  a  right  happy  Christmas  and  a  long  succes- 
sion of  them  !     Hip,  hip,  hurrah  !  !  !  "  ^ 

In  the  same  paper  a  Ballyhaunis  poet  taunts  some  local 

person  with  his  reluctance  to  go  to  the  front,  and  he 

makes  the  delinquent  say  : — 

"  No  ;  I'd  rather  make  a  sortie 
On  a  little  drop  of  malt, 
With  an  order  from  the  Border 
For  a  vast  supply  of  malt — 

Or,  Guinness  even." 

'  C'onnauyht  Telerjraph,  December  28,  1901. 


THE   PROGRESSIVES  157 

And  again,  complaining  of  the  falling  away  in  Christmas 
festivities,  and  the  wetness  of  winter  in  Mayo,  which  is 
indeed  extraordinary,  the  poet  says  :— 

"  We  read  of  artistic  branching  by  frost  on  the  window  pane, 
And   weatherproof  ghosts  who  travelled  when   sensible  men 

were  in  bed  ; 
And   the   twit-twit-twitter  of   Robins  exploring  for  picks  of 

grain, 
Or  invading  domestic  circles  to  beg  for  a  crumb  of  bread. 
But  we  never  see  these  things — 
The  Christmas  frost  and  snow, 
Like  antiquated  Uncle  Jetf, 
Are  gone  where  the  good  niggers  go  ; 
But  raining,  raining,  raining. 
As  if  there  were  nought  but  rain. 
The  old  time  Yule  is  buried, 
'Twill  never  arise  again. 
Except  annually  in  the  Xmas  magazines  ;  'twill  turn  up  with  the 
regularity  of  an  ^M.G.W.  express  train.     Still  these  considerations 
do  not  prevent  us  from  wishing  all  readers  A  Happy  Christmas." 

Notwithstanding  the  rain,  we  find  that  the  "  Castlebar 
Commercial  Quadrille  Party"  will  presently  hold  its 
annual  dance  in  the  Town  Hall.  Next  our  attention  is 
claimed  by  a  poem  on  the  Immaculate  Conception  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin,  copied  from  an  American  paper ;  a 
priestly  story  about  the  Divine  Bambino ;  a  history  of 
the  Angelus ;  and  other  pious  jnatter. 

The  Roscommon  Guardians  are  assembled  in  meeting, 
Mr.  T.  A.  P.  Mapother,  D.L.,  in  the  chair.  Mr.  MGreavy, 
a  member  of  Bishop  Clancy's  flock,  exclaims  : — 

"  I  observe  the  envelopes  used  this  week  in  sending 
notices  to  the  guardians  had  the  letters  '  O.H.M.S.' 
printed  on  the  outside,  and,  seeing  that  these  letters 
are  emblematic  of  our  subjugation  to  a  base  and 
barbarous  race,  let  it  be  put  down  on  the  minutes 
that  the  clerk  be  ordered  to  cease  ordering  any  more 
of  these   envelopes   with   any  such   degrading  letters 


158  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

printed  or  written  thereon ;  and  for  the  future,  that 
envelopes  with  some  national  emblem  or  lettering,  such 
as  '  On  The  People's  Service,'  be  substituted, 

"  The  Chairman  said  they  could  not  abolish  any 
ancient  practice  without  notice. 

"Mr.  M'Greavy — I  know  Conservatives  do  not  like 
to  bring  this  change,  but  we  are  Progressives. 

"  The  Chairman — If  you  mean  to  insinuate  I  am  a 
Conservative  you  are  mistaken.     I  am  not. 

"  Mr.  M'Greavy  said  he  was  glad  to  see  the  Chairman 
backing  the  Republicans.  He  thought  such  a  practice 
should  be  abolished,  as  it  was  emblematic  of  their  sub- 
jugation." 

I  can  imagine  what  a  meeting  of  that  kind  would  be 
like  at  which  all  the  members  spoke  Irish,  when  no 
outside  criticism  could  be  brought  to  bear  upon  its 
proceedings.  It  so  happens  that  I  passed  by  the  town 
of  Roscommon  recently  in  the  train.  The  only  overt 
evidence  of  trade  to  be  seen  at  the  railway  station  was 
a  collection  of  Guinness's  porter  barrels  ;  but  there  was 
nothing  exceptional  in  that.  The  only  manifestation 
of  life  or  habitation,  or  of  the  existence  of  Progressives 
in  the  vicinity,  was  an  enormous  pile  of  ecclesiastical 
buildings,  some  of  them  just  built,  others  in  process  of 
erection — convents,  presbyteries,  churches,  all  brand 
new — built  of  the  finest  cut  stone,  and  representing  an 
immense  outlay  of  money  on  the  part  of  the  Progres- 
sives, It  would  be  more  appropriate  if  Mr.  M'Greavy 
had  the  letters  "  O.H.M.C."  printed  on  the  envelopes  of 
the  Roscommon  Poor  Law  Board,  They  stand  for  the 
words,  "  Our  Holy  Mother  the  Church,"  and  Avould  be 
more  germane  to  the  contents  of  the  Union  missives 
than  "  O.H.M.S," ;  for  his  Majesty's  service,  or  the 
people's  service,  must  have  little,  if  any,  concern  with 
the  doings  of  the  Roscommon  Guardians. 

The  motto  of  the  Connaught  Telegra2)h  is,  "  Be  just, 


CELTIC  GREETINGS  AND   BANK   DRAFTS    159 

and  fear  not."  Would  that  any  newspaper  in  Catholic 
Ireland,  catering  for  Catholic  support,  were  in  a  position 
to  act  up  to  that  motto !  The  leading  article  in  the 
issue  of  the  Gonnaught  Telegraph  under  consideration 
is  pathetic :  — 

"The  close  of  each  succeeding  year  brings  a  bright 
gleam  from  the  beacon-light  that  shone  forth  on  that 
red-letter  day  in  the  history  of  the  world,  and  high 
above  the  din  of  strife  and  the  tumult  of  a  warring 
world  is  felt  the  Christianising  iutiuence  of  the  '  good 
tidings  of  great  joy'  that  vibrated  through  the  dark- 
ness of  a  pagan  world  nineteen  centuries  ago,  and  still, 
as  the  years  roll  by,  brings  '  peace  on  earth  to  men  of 
good  will'  Time  and  space  seem  annihilated;  those 
separated  by  length  of  time  and  space  grasp  the  hands 
of  friendship  and  brighten  the  paternal  home ;  loving 
Christmas  greetings  and  friendship's  tokens  are  wafted 
to  and  fro.  And  none  more  true  than  the  warm  prayer- 
ful Celtic  greeting  from  humble  Irish  homesteads,  wafted 
across  wild  wastes  of  waters  to  their  exiled  kith  and 
km,  and  from  those  Irish  exiles  the  greetings  laden 
with  gifts  emblematic  of  the  bonds  that  bind  them  to 
their  natives  homes  and  motherland." 

The  sentiments  do  credit  to  the  writer's  heart.  When 
would  he  ever  succeed  in  writing  so  well  in  Irish  ? 
And  are  not  the  gifts  which  come  to  Mayo  from  the 
exiles  generally  bank  drafts — and  as  such  "  emblematic 
of  the  bonds  that  bind  the  exiles  to  Ireland " — and 
would  it  suit  to  have  those  documents  written  in  Irish  ? 

Would  that  the  spirit  of  Him,  whose  birth  brought 
"  peace  on  earth  to  men  of  good  will,"  found  some  worthy 
expression  in  the  acts  and  lives  of  the  priests  and  people 
of  Mayo  !  But,  saturated  as  they  are  with  the  preach- 
ing and  teaching  of  their  six  bishops  and  innumerable 
priests — whose  lives  are  a  standing  contradiction  of 
every  principle  laid  down  by  the  Son  of  Man,  the  Prince 


i6o  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

of  Meekness — there  is,  I  fear,  little  to  hope  for  the  poor 
Mayo  people,  except  to  wish  that  Bishop  Clancy's  pro- 
phetic fears  may  be  realised,  namely,  that  they  may 
disappear  from  Ireland  and  take  up  their  abode  in  lands 
where  they  can  exercise  their  minds,  develop  their 
faculties,  and  lead  lives  fit  for  God-created,  God-re- 
deemed human  beings. 

The  population  of  Mayo  has  decreased  from  246,030 
in  1 87 1  to  199,166  in  1901,  Ninety-eight  per  cent, 
of  its  inhabitants  are  Roman  Catholic;  33.1  per  cent, 
are  illiterate,  and  6  per  cent.  "  able  to  read  only." 
The  admitted  number  of  priests,  monks,  and  nuns  in 
the  county  is  323  ;  teachers  under  clerical  control, 
661  ;  total  sacerdotal  establishment,  without  counting 
subsidiaries,  984.  The  services  of  the  national  and 
local  governments  combined  only  amount  to  850 
persons ;  and  that  figure  includes  civil  service  officers 
and  clerks,  as  well  as  municipal,  parish,  union,  district, 
and  county  officials,  male  and  female,  and  the  large 
force  of  5  I  5  police.  While  there  are  179  nuns,  there 
are  only  9  mid  wives  to  attend  to  the  27,897  married 
women  in  Mayo;^  and  though  there  are  35,856  girls 
between  the  ages  of  5  and  20,  only  72  are  returned  as 
receiving  "  superior  "  education. 

In  the  adjacent  county  of  Sligo,  over  which  Bishop 
Clancy  rules,  there  were  140  priests,  monks,  and  nuns 
in  1 8 8 1 ,  when  the  population  was  107,479.  I^  1901, 
when  the  population  had  fallen  to  84,083,  the  number 
of  priests,  monks,  and  nuns  had  risen  to  214.  That  is  to 
say,  while  the  people  have  decreased  by  23,396,  or  about 
22  per  cent.,  in  twenty  years,  the  Roman  Catholic 
religious  establishment  has  been  augmented  by  over 
50  per  cent.-^  But  the  full  clerical  organisation  in 
Sligo  will  be  dealt  with  in  a  later  chapter. 

1  "  Census  of  Ireland, "  1901. 


CHAPTER   IX 

IN  CONNAUGHT  (continued) 

As  so  much  has  been  claimed  for  Mayo  by  Bishop 
Lyster,  I  shall  give  some  impressions  of  that  region 
of  Ireland  in  a  few  words.  I  have  recently  visited 
that  county,  and  amongst  many  other  places  the  "  dis- 
turbed districts,"  as  they  are  called,  between  Ballagha- 
dereen,  Castlerea,  and  Boyle.  I  never  saw  in  the  whole 
course  of  my  life — which  has  been  all  spent  in  Ireland 
— such  a  number  of  idle,  well-dressed,  hopeless,  mys- 
terious-looking people  as  the  peasants  of  those  districts. 
Most  of  theni  migrate  to  England  for  six  months  of 
the  year  and  work  as  extra  hands  for  the  Enghsh 
farmers.  They  are  l)y  no  means  badly  oft";  but  their 
homes  are  neglected  for  the  all-sufticient  reason  that 
the  occupants  do  not  regard  them  as  their  homes.  The 
tillage  of  their  plots  of  land  is  neglected  because  of  the 
owners'  prolonged  absence  from  home.  Irishman  that 
I  am  to  the  finger-tips,  it  was  with  difficulty  at  first 
that  I  could  bring  myself  to  regard  the  black-haired 
denizens  of  this  region  as  my  fellow-countrymen.  I 
inquired  about  them  from  various  authorities  in  the 
district,  and  I  found  everything  which  appearances  had 
led  me  to  believe  about  them  confirmed  by  the  expres- 
sions of  opinion  I  got  from  those  resident  men  and 
women,  mostly  Roman  Catholics,  to  whom  I  spoke. 

"They  are  the  idlest  people  in  the  world,"  said  one  man. 

"  If  you  notice  their  trousers,"  said  a  second  man, 
"  you  will  see  them  scorched  brown  from  sitting  over 

i6i  L 


1 62  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

the  fire  !  They  do  no  work  from  November  to  March  ; 
then  they  rush  out  and  scratch  up  the  surface  of  the 
fields,  just  as  hens  would,  and  put  in  their  little  crops, 
and  then  they  go  off  to  England." 

"  There  is  no  poverty  amongst  them,"  said  a  third 
man  to  me.  "  One  of  the  boys  or  girls  out  of  any  of 
those  wretched  houses  will  have  a  year's  rent  on  their 
back,  as  they  walk  into  Frenchpark  or  Castlerea." 

A  fourth  man  said  that "  they  were  not  Irishmen  at  all, 
inasmuch  as  they  spend  half  their  lives  in  England  !  " 

I  saw  an  abundance  of  pigs  and  cattle  ;  and  the  roads 
were  crowded  with  people — idle  people,  people  in  their 
Sunday  clothes,  though  it  was  a  week-day.  The  elderly 
women  were  well  clad  and  comfortably  wrapped  up  in 
shawls  or  cloaks.  Though  it  was  not  raining,  they 
carried  open  umbrellas,  apparently  for  the  sake  of  show, 
or  perhaps  they  were  actuated  by  feelings  of  excessive 
modesty  and  used  them  to  screen  their  countenances 
from  the  passing  stranger !  The  boys  and  girls  were 
dressed  just  as  English  boys  and  girls  are  clad,  only  I 
should  say  rather  better  dressed,  certainly  more  showily 
dressed,  than  people  of  their  class  would  be  in  England 
or  Scotland  on  the  Sabbath  day.  English-made  caps, 
bright-coloured  neckerchiefs,  or  starched  collars — for 
which  and  hard  hats  the  Irishmen  of  the  lower  class 
everywhere  have  a  great  weakness — ready-made  clothes 
purchased  in  the  towns  or  brought  from  England  :  such 
was  the  dress  of  the  young  men  I  met  on  the  road.  As 
for  the  girls,  I  can  only  state  my  general  impression  that 
they  appeared  to  be  very  much  overdressed. 

"  They  are  altered  girls  in  Irrul  now  ;  'tis  proud  they're  grown 
and  high, 
With  their  hair-bags  and   their  top-knots,   for   I   pass  their 
buckles  by."  * 

1  Lavcllo's  Irish  poem  before  quoted. 


A  SQUALID  LAND  163 

Arrayed  in  shoAvy  hats  and  other  finery,  with  town-made 
coats  and  skirts,  and  parasols  and  gloves,  they  picked 
their  steps  along  the  muddy  roads.  I  saw  no  barefooted 
or  ragged  people  at  all,  though  I  took  the  byroads 
through  the  "  congested  districts,"  so  called.  I  saw 
houses  which  I  can  only  describe  as  vermin-abodes. 
I  saw  little  farmyards  surrounding  those  dwellings, 
which  were  in  a  condition  of  filth,  untidiness,  and 
neglect.  And  it  was  out  of  these  vermin-abodes  and 
the  purlieus  that  surrounded  them  that  the  well-dressed 
people  on  the  roads  emerged  before  my  eyes.  The  poor 
denizens  of  our  Dublin  slums  are  dirty,  ragged,  hope- 
less; and  we  ai'C  not  surprised  when  we  visit  theu- 
dwelling-places  to  find  a  corresponding  degree  of  un- 
cleanliness  and  discomfort.  But  it  amazed  me  to 
behold  young,  healthy,  fresh-faced,  well-clad,  and  ex- 
ternally clean  people  living  in  such  squalor  in  the 
open  country.  The  wide  sky  of  heaven  bending  over 
thera  looks  down  upon  a  tract  of  country  which,  for 
lack  of  dignity,  absence  of  all  attraction,  either  natural 
or  artificial,  is  in  my  experience  unsurpassed.  There 
is  dignity  in  a  moor  ;  there  is  beauty  in  a  bog.  There  is 
glory  in  a  well-inhabited,  well-tilled  agricultural  country, 
though  it  may  possess  no  scenic  attractions.  What  a 
glorious  sight  for  an  Irishman's  eyes,  for  instance,  are 
the  small,  well-kept  farms  of  treeless  Island  Mageo  ! 
But,  oh,  how  difl^erent  it  is  here  in  this  part  of  Con- 
naught  !  One  beholds  large  tracts  of  Mayo  and  Ros- 
conunon,  which,  though  as  thickly  populated,  and  by 
an  agricultural  population,  as  the  country  districts  in 
Antrim  or  Down,  yet  constitute  one  of  the  most  for- 
bidding sights  which  an  Irishman  or  a  lover  of  nature 
could  well  gaze  upon.  No  trees,  no  outlines  even  in  the 
horizon  ;  no  effective  demarcation  of  property ;  no  evi- 
dences of  the  master's  eye  about  the  farmstead  or  in  the 


i64  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

field.  You  feel  the  fact  borne  in  upon  you,  that  the 
dense  population  of  this  region  only  grudgingly  do  as 
much  work  as  will  suffice  to  keep  them  in  food,  clothes, 
and  such  gratifications  as  they  are  capable  of  relishing. 
Civil  processes  for  the  recovery  of  arrears  of  rent 
had  been  served  on  the  tenants  of  some  of  the  estates 
through  which  I  passed.  The  amounts  in  most  of  the 
cases  were  ridiculously  small ;  and  no  man  of  spirit 
or  of  right  training,  in  possession  of  full  bodily  health, 
should  suffer  his  life  to  be  spoiled  and  brought  to  a 
dead  stop  for  the  sake  of  the  paltry  amounts  in  ques- 
tion. In  a  country  where  the  supply  of  labour  is  so 
much  below  the  demand,  as  it  is  in  rural  Ireland  at 
present,  there  is  no  excuse  for  such  conduct.  There 
is  an  explanation  of  it,  however,  and  it  lies  in  the  fact 
that  the  example  and  teaching  of  their  ministers  of 
religion  constitute  for  these  sulking  peasants  the  highest 
ideal  of  life  known  to  them.  For  them  there  is  practi- 
cally no  such  being  as  Christ ;  for  them  the  words  Love 
your  enemies  may  as  well  never  have  been  spoken  ;  for 
them  there  is  no  such  thing  as  serious  Christian  thought 
or  reflection.  There  is  only  mummery  and  mystery ; 
only  unintelligible  gibberish  about  saints  and  dead  an- 
cestors existing  in  a  spirit-world,  which  is  not  a  whit 
more  useful  to  them  than  the  meaningless,  childish  folk- 
lore which,  so  far  as  one  can  judge,  constitutes  that  Gaelic 
literature  by  which  they  are  to  be  regenerated.  There 
they  are,  at  a  standstill,  while  the  world  revolves  on  its 
course  and  time  steals  their  youth  and  strength  from 
them,  and  hurries  them  to  that  bourne  at  the  end  of 
life,  at  which  they  shall  arrive  in  no  better  mental  con- 
dition than  the  Drimin  duhh  dilis  in  the  bog — the 
dear,  black,  white-backed  cow  of  Ireland — about  which 
so  many  rhapsodies  have  been  written.  They  have  no 
heart  to  advance  themselves  in  life.     They  have   no 


RELIGION   AT   FAULT  165 

honourable  ambition  even  to  increase  the  number  of 
their  cows.  Have  they  not  heard  of  the  Woman  of 
the  Three  Cows? 

"  O'Ruark,  Maguire,  those  souls  of  fire,  whose  names  are  shrined 

in  story — 
Think  how  their  high  acliievements  once  made  Erin's  greatest 

glory  ; 
Yet  now  their  bones  lie  mouldering  under  weeds  and  cypress 

boughs, 
And  so,  for  all  your  pride,  will  yours,  O  Woman  of  the  Three 

Cows.''  1 

As  one  looks  at  them  standing  aimlessly  in  their  fields 
or  close  by  their  vermin-abodes,  one  can  imagine  them 
addressing  the  cow  close  at  hand  : — 

"  O  Drimin  dubh  dilis  !  the  landlord  has  come, 
Like  a  foul  blast  of  death  has  he  swept  o'er  our  home  ; 
He  has  withered  our  roof-tree — beneath  the  cold  sky, 
Poor,  houseless,  and  homeless,  to-night  we  must  lie. 

I  knelt  down  three  times  for  to  utter  a  prayer, 
But  my  heart  it  was  seared  and  the  words  were  not  there  ; 
Wild  were  the  thoughts  through  my  dizzy  head  came, 
Like  the  rushing  of  wind  through  a  forest  of  flame."  ^ 

No  ;  the  prayer  would  not  come  ;  for  the  religion  of 
those  poor  Mayo  peasants  is  but  a  mummery.  When 
engaged  in  it,  they  are  but  acting  a  part  like  a  herd  of 
supers  on  the  boards  of  a  pantomime  stage,  and  when 
real  difficulty  comes  upon  them,  their  theatrical  reli- 
gionUs  of  no  use  to  them.  They  fly  to  such  resources 
as  assassination,  outrage  on  man  and  beast,  and  virago- 
ism.  What  sustaining  solace  have  they  ever  known, 
save  that  of  rushing  into  the  dark  confessional  at  night, 
and  mumbling  out  their  tale  of  sins  committed  withm  a 

^  Translation  of  the  Irish  song,  Oo-reidh  a  bhean  7ia  d'tri  m-ho,  by 
James  Clarence  Mangan. 

2  Edward  Walsh,  born  in  Derry  1805,  died  in  Cork  1850  ;  a  poor  Irish 
poet  and  translator. 


i66  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

given  period,  so  far  as  they  can  remember  them — the 
bulk  of  which,  and  those  which  they  consider  the  most 
heinous,  not  being  in  reahty  siris  at  all.  Whereas,  the 
most  character-damaging  deviations  from  the  path  of 
Christian  rectitude  are  often  not  regarded  by  them  in 
the  light  of  sins,  and,  therefore,  not  confessed.  Then 
they  emerge,  having  received  absolution,  believing  that 
the  debt  due  to  outraged  God  and  injured  society,  and 
their  demoralised  selves,  has  been  all  paid  off,  like  a 
shopkeeper's  account.  Could  any  religion  be  more  use- 
less, indeed,  more  positively  baneful  for  a  man  or  woman 
at  a  time  of  distress,  when  all  the  combative  faculties  of 
manhood  or  womanhood  should  be  called  forth  ?  What 
do  they  know  of  the  strength  of  the  mc7is  conscia  recti, 
of  the  resources  which  are  within  call  of  the  heroic 
Christian  wrestling  with  adversity  ? 

On  two  estates  through  which  I  passed — the  Murphy 
and  De  Freyne  estates,  near  Fairymount — I  saw  more 
armed  constabulary  men,  all  Irishmen,  on  the  roads,  in 
the  police-huts  and  permanent  police  stations,  than  I 
ever  remember  to  have  seen  in  a  countryside  before. 
I  saw  two  of  them  with  guns,  awkwardly  slung  over 
their  arms,  picking  their  steps  over  a  boggy  field  in  front 
of  a  well-kept  farmhouse,  from  which  a  cleanly-dressed, 
active  little  man  had  just  emerged.  This  man  I  learned 
was  the  bailiff  on  the  Murphy  estate,  who  had  incurred 
odium  through  having  personally  served  the  writs  and 
processes  for  rent  upon  the  tenants  ;  and  he  seemed  a 
plucky,  industrious  little  chap.  He  said  he  did  not 
want  the  police  protection  at  all.  But  the  Government, 
notwithstanding,  kept  two  constables  on  his  premises, 
and  attending  on  his  person  day  and  night. 

On  the  roads  I  passed  a  few  well-nourished  priests, 
driving  fast-stepping  horses,  yoked  to  American  buggies 
— the  only  expeditious  locomotion  I  met  in  the  district. 


BISHOP  AND   LANDLORD  167 

At  Castlorea,  the  priests'  buildings — churches,  pres- 
byteries, and  convents — are  rearing  their  cut-stone 
fronts  aloft,  as  they  are  at  Roscommon,  forming  such 
a  contrast  to  the  surrounding  habitations  of  the  laity, 
and  the  general  squalor  of  the  country,  as  to  challenge 
criticism.  Lord  de  Freyne,  of  whom  the  public  have 
heard  so  much,  is,  like  myself  and  the  denizens  of  the 
squalid  country  round  his  demesne,  a  Roman  Catholic. 
He  is  the  father  of  a  large  young  family ;  and  he  lives 
within  his  demesne  wall  in  this  unlovable  region  all 
the  year  round.  His  existence  becomes  known  to  the 
villagers  in  Frenchpark,  whose  dwellings  crouch  beneath 
the  twelve-foot  wall  and  high  beeches  of  his  demesne,  by 
the  occasional  pop  of  his  rifle  when  he  shoots  an  unwary 
rabbit  in  the  shrubbery.  It  would  be  impossible  to  see 
a  resident  landlord  more  utterly  out  of  touch  with  his 
tenantry.  What  a  spectacle  this  contrast  of  the  demesne 
and  the  vermin-abodes  atfords  to  the  student  of  Roman 
Catholic  Christianity,  as  it  operates  alike  upon  the 
gentle  and  upon  the  simple  in  Ireland ! 

The  priests  did  not  co-operate  with  the  De  Freyne 
tenants  in  their  efforts  to  get  a  reduction  from  the 
landlord,  and  a  resident  in  Frenchpark  told  me  that 
on  that  account  it  was  proposed  to  boycott  the  priests 
themselves  by  withholding  the  annual  dues  at  Christ- 
mas. This  suggestion,  however,  was  not  acted  upon;  the 
priests,  as  usual,  temporising  and  plausibly  explaining 
to  the  tenants,  while  by  no  means  breaking  with  Lord 
de  Frejme,  who  was  one  of  the  peer  signatories  to  the 
declaration  for  a  Catholic  University  in  February  1897.^ 

Bishop  Clancy  of  Elphin,  with  prudent  vagueness, 
deals  with  the  position  of  things  on  the  De  Freyne 
and   other  estates  thus,  in  his  pastoral  read  on  9th 

1  First  Report  of  Commission  on  University  Education  in  Ireland, 
1901,  p.  295. 


1 68  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

February  1902  :  "I  refer  to  the  dijS&culties  that  gener- 
ally arise  regarding  the  arrangement  of  rents,  and  the 
infliction  of  a  species  of  social  ostracism  on  persons 
whose  action  is  supposed  to  be  adverse  to  the  interests 
of  the  popular  organisation.  Just  now,  when  in  cer- 
tain parishes  of  this  diocese  there  is  the  danger  of 
overstepping  the  boundary  line  between  what  is 
morally  lawful  and  unlawful,  I  deem  it  a  conscien- 
tious duty  to  quote  verbatim  "  the  decisions  of  "  the 
highest  and  most  competent  authority  on  earth."  The 
combination  that  he  refers  to  is  the  well-known  plan 
of  campaign,  and  the  Prefect  of  the  Holy  Roman 
Inquisition,  Cardinal  Monaco,  is  the  "  highest  authority 
on  earth  "  to  whom  he  alludes.  He  quotes  Cardinal 
Monaco's  letter  for  the  people  of  Elphin,  and  from  that 
epistle,  written  in  the  year  1888,  I  take  the  following 
sentence :  "  Finally  it  is  altogether  foreign  to  natural 
justice  and  Christian  charity  that  a  new  form  of  perse- 
cution and  proscription  should  ruthlessly  be  put  in  force 
against  persons  who  are  satisfied  with,  and  are  prepared 
to  pay  the  rent  agreed  on  with  their  landlord," 

It  is  significant  that,  within  five  days  of  the  appear- 
ance of  Bishop  Clancy's  pastoral  reference  to  Cardinal 
Monaco's  letter  on  the  plan  of  campaign,  Messrs.  John 
Fitzgibbon,  Castlerea ;  Patrick  Webb,  Lough  Glynn ; 
and  Patrick  Conroy,  Castlerea,  were  summoned  on  the 
following,  amongst  other  charges,  by  the  police : — 

"  That  they  did  on  Sunday,  the  12th  January  1902, 
unlawfully  assemble  together  with  the  object  of  unlaw- 
fully causing  injury  and  damage  to  Lord  de  Freyne, 
and  to  induce  certain  persons  who  held  land  as  tenants 
to  Lord  de  Freyne,  and  were  legally  liable  to  pay  to 
him  certain  rents  for  their  holdings,  unlawfully  to 
combine  together  to  refuse  to  pay,  and  not  to  pay  their 
rents  to  Lord  de  Freyne." 


THE   ROMAN   INQUISITION  169 

Why  did  the  authorities  wait  until  the  i  5  th  February 
to  issue  this  perfectly  reasonable  summons  for  an 
occurrence  which  took  place  on  the  12th  January? 
Were  they  waiting  for  the  assistance  of  the  Prefect  of 
the  Inquisition  and  Bishop  Clancy  ?  Why  did  not 
Lord  de  Freyne  himself  take  proceedings  against  those 
people,  which  would  have  been  a  perfectly  natural 
course  to  take  ?  The  Sligo  Board  of  Guardians,  ignor- 
ing Bishop  Clancy's  pastoral,  passed  a  resolution  on  the 
1 5  th  February  that  they  had 

"heard  with  regret,  as  well  as  with  disgust,  that  one 
of  the  most  respected  members  of  the  Sligo  County 
Council  was  this  morning  brought  through  the  town 
like  a  common  felon,  to  be  incarcerated  for  one  month 
for  having  sympathised  with  the  tenants  on  the  Murphy 
and  De  Freyne  estates.  We  condemn  such  tyranny,  and 
he  has  in  his  prison  cell  our  sincere  sympathy." 

The  Mr.  John  Fitzgibbon,  of  Castlerea,  referred  to 
in  the  summons,  is  an  industrious  and  able  man  of 
his  class.  He  is  an  extensive  draper  and  general 
trader  in  that  town ;  and  I  heard  nothing  but  the 
best  accounts  of  him  for  his  energy  and  capability, 
even  from  those  who  side  Avith  the  landlord's  party, 
when  I  recently  paid  a  visit  to  that  region.  I  am 
not  concerned  in  this  dispute  between  Lord  de  Freyne 
and  his  tenantry.  I  sympathise  with  Lord  de  Freyne 
in  his  position.  I  also  sympathise  with  the  tenantry 
in  their  position.  But  the  interference  of  Bishop 
Clancy  is  so  lukewarm,  and  his  way  of  expressing  his 
opinions  on  so  notorious  a  transaction  is  so  indirect — 
.casting  all  the  onus  of  his  intervention,  as  it  were, 
upon  his  ecclesiasticaP  superior,  Cardinal  Monaco — 
that  I  cannot  approve  of  it.  He  knows  more  about 
the  affairs  of  the  De  Freyne  estate  than  Cardinal 
Monaco  or  his  Inquisition  from  Italy ;  and  it  should 


I70  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

have  been  his  duty  to  inquire  firsthand  into  the  con- 
dition of  affairs,  and  to  give  the  people  sensible, 
luminous  guidance,  and  practical  assistance  towards 
a  settlement,  if  he  were  capable  of  it.  It  was  pre- 
eminently his  place  to  effect  a  compromise  between  the 
Catholic  landlord  and  his  Catholic  tenants. 

Immediately  after  these  proceedings  at  the  Sligo 
Board  of  Guardians, 

"  an  important  conference  of  the  associated  estates  was 
held  at  Lough  Glynn,  at  which  it  was  stated  that  on 
the  following  Wednesday  the  sheriff  would  put  up  for 
sale  in  the  court-house,  Roscommon,  the  tenants'  in- 
terests in  forty-two  holdings  on  the  De  Freyne  estate, 
under  execution  for  non-payment  of  rent."  ^ 

Mr.  Patrick  Webb,  vice-chairman  of  the  Roscommon 
County  Council,  presided.     He  said 

"  De  Freyne  was  to  put  up  those  places  for  sale,  but  he 
had  to  go  through  all  the  legal  forms  the  same  as  an 
ordinary  creditor,  and  after  obtaining  the  decree  for 
possession  the  tenants  were  as  safe  in  their  holdings 
as  ever." 

I  noticed,  when  in  the  district,  that  they  never  say 
"  Lord  de  Freyne,"  but  always  "  De  Freyne,"  when 
speaking  of  the  landlord.  The  following  resolution 
was  passed : — 

"  That  we,  the  tenants  on  the  associated  estates,  are 
determined  to  fight  the  battle  against  landlordism,  in 
which  we  are  presently  engaged,  to  the  bitter  end,  and 
that  our  war  cry  is  '  no  surrender.'  " 

Thus  we  find  that  Bishop  Clancy's  pastoral  is  produc-' 
tive  of  no  efifect  whatever,  save  that  of  infusing  courage 
into  the  authorities  to  take  proceedings  in  the  ordinary 

'  Freeman's  Journal,  February  1 8,  1902. 


THE   DE   FREYNE  ESTATE  171 

course  of  British  law,  and  of  saving  appearances  for 
Bishop  Climcy. 

It  cannot  be  too  well  noted  that  the  Irish  priests  are 
powerless  to  resist — they  have  not  the  moral  courage 
or  single-mindedness  necessary  to  resist — any  really 
popular  movement,  with  a  definite,  lucrative  object  in 
view,  which  the  people  may  take  up.  But,  though-that 
is  so,  it  is  the  priests'  teaching  which  must  be  held 
responsible,  in  the  first  instance,  for  the  illegal,  unbusi- 
nesshke,  and  unsuccessful  methods  adopted  by  our  poor 
Irish  people  to  attain  their  ends  in  such  matters.  A 
little  more  industry,  a  little  more  hopefulness,  would 
win  for  those  tenants  the  few  paltry  pounds  in  question. 
And  what  a  much  nobler  way  of  gaining  the  money 
that  would  be  than  to  coerce  a  landlord  into  bestowing 
it  on  them  out  of  his  diminished  revenue. 

Before  bidding  good-bye  to  the  De  Freyne  estate,  let 
us  follow  up  the  fate  of  the  holdings  which  were  put  up 
for  sale  at  Roscommon.  When  the  sheriff  proceeded 
to  put  up  the  holdings  for  sale  in  the  Roscommon 
Court-House  on  Wednesday,  19th  February,  there  was 
a  large  attendance  of  the  De  Freyne  tenants  and  their 
friends,  including  Messrs.  William  Duffy,  M.P.,  John 
Fitzgibbon,  Patrick  Webb,  J.  Casey,  B.  Hunt,  Thomas 
Greavy,  J.  P.  Dolman,  P.  Cribbin,  T.  Freeman,  P.  Lavin, 
and  J.  Bcirne.  We  are  informed  that  "  before  the  sale 
commenced  they  held  a  private  meeting,  and  decided  on 
the  course  of  action  they  would  pursue."  ^  Mr.  Woulfe 
Flanagan,  agent  to  Lord  de  Freyne,  attended  with  the 
sub-sheriff.     He  informed  the  meeting, 

"  for  the  information  of  all  the  tenants  present  there — 
and  he  wished  to  say  so  in  the  kindliest  and  most 
friendly  way,  and  by  no  means  in  the  sense  of  using  a 
threat — that  any  tenant  who  suffered  his  farm  to  be 
sold  that  day  would  lose  his  status  as  a  judicial  tenant." 

'   Prccvutn's  Journal,  February  20,  1902. 


172  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

Some  of  the  tenants'  representatives  protested  against 
Mr.  Flanagan  making  a  speech,  but  Mr.  Flanagan  was 
allowed  to  make  the  further  statement 

"  that  Lord  de  Freyne  had  authorised  him  to  say  that 
he  did  not  wish  to  drive  matters  to  extremes,  nor  to 
enforce  the  whole  amount  of  the  judgments  marked  on 
these  writs.  He  was  quite  satislied  if  the  farms  were 
bid  for  up  to  the  amount  of  one  year's  rent  and  costs. 
He  (Mr.  Flanagan)  would  not  bid  beyond  that,  and  he 
was  quite  willing  that  the  tenants  should  buy  in  their 
farms  at  that  price." 

Mr.  John  Fitzgibbon,  whom  I  have  alluded  to  before,  said 

"  it  was  well  known  that  he  was  identified  with  the 
cause  of  the  tenants  in  this  struggle ;  and  he  did  not 
really  think  at  that  moment  that  Lord  de  Freyne  was 
exactly  to  blame.  He  thought  that  the  whole  row 
originated  with  the  emancipation  of  the  Dillon  tenants. 
The  latter  felt  themselves  to-day  a  new  people,  a  dif- 
ferent race  from  what  they  were  two  years  ago.  The 
tenants  on  the  De  Freyne  estates  were  slaves  who  were 
anxious  to  be  free  too,  and  they  had  made  an  effort  to 
shake  off  the  chains  with  which  they  had  been  bound 
for  centuries." 

The  Dillon  estate  adjoins  the  De  Freyne  estate,  and, 
two  years  ago,  the  Congested  Districts  Board  purchased 
the  entire  estate  from  Lord  Dillon,  and  sold  it  to  the 
occupying  tenants  under  the  terms  of  the  Purchase 
Acts.  The  yearly  annuities  now  payable  on  the  Dillon 
estate  are  said  to  be  only  two-thirds  of  the  former 
rents,  so  advantageously  do  the  Purchase  Acts  work 
in  practice  for  the  tenants.  The  De  Freyne  tenants' 
combination  was  well  calculated  to  force  Lord  de 
Freyne  to  sell.  Let  us  now  see  what  Mr.  Woulfe 
Flanagan's  offer  to  accept  a  year's  rent  and  costs, 
as  a  pres.ent  instalment  of  the  debt  in  each  case, 
resulted  in.     The  sheriff,  Mr.  P.  Burrowes  Shiel,  stated 


SALE   OF   THE   HOLDINGS  173 

at  a  later  stage  of  the  sale,  that  "  the  more  money  he 
got  the  more  was  it  in  the  interest  of  the  plaintiff  and 
in  the  interest  of  the  defendants,  because,  the  greater 
amount  unpaid,  the  larger  was  the  debt  outstanding 
against  these  unfortunate  men."  Lord  de  Freyne 
would  still  have  the  right  to  proceed  for  the  balance 
of  his  judgments  unrealised  at  this  sale. 

In  the  case  of  Patrick  Egan  the  yearly  rent 
was  i^i4,  14s.  6d.,  and  the  amount  of  the  debt  was 
;^55,  13s.  6d. ;  that  is  to  say,  about  four  years'  rent 
were  in  arrear.  We  are  told  that  Mr.  Fitzgibbon,  on 
behall  of  the  tenant,  bid  up  to  ;^I4,  and  Mr.  Flanagan 
was  declared  the  purchaser  at  i^i  5.  Had  Mr.  Fitzgibbon 
bid  £16,  or  whatever  one  year's  rent,  plus  the  costs, 
amounted  to,  say  £ij,  Lord  de  Freyne  would  take  that 
amount  as  a  present  instalment  on  his  judgment  of 
£SS'  13s.  6d. 

Another  case  is  that  of  John  Fitz-Patrick,  whose 
yearly  rent  is  £•/,  los.,  and  the  amount  of  the  debt  due 
to  Lord  do  Freyne  ;^48,  is.  4d.,  which  would  be  equal 
to  about  six  years'  arrears.  We  find  this  holding  was 
bid  up  to  £6,  IIS.  by  the  tenants,  and  knocked  down  to 
Mr.  Flanagan  at  £y.  Had  the  tenant  bid  up  to^^S,  los. 
or  £g  for  it,  that  amount  would  have  been  taken  as  an 
instalment  on  the  judgment  of  ^^"48  odd. 

In  the  case  of  Dominick  Connor,  the  yearly  rent  was 
£4,  1 8s.,  and  the  amount  of  the  debt  £^6,  19s.  Qd.,  equal 
to  about  eight  years'  arrears.  This  holding  was  bid  up 
to  £4,  15s.  by  Mr.  Duffy,  M.P.,  on  behalf  of  the  tenant, 
but  was  knocked  down  to  Mr.  Flanagan  at  £^.  Had 
£6,  I  OS.  been  bid,  that  amount  would  have  been  taken 
as  an  instalment  on  the  eight  years'  arrears. 

Some  other  typical  cases  are : — 

Owen  Madden,  yearly  rent,  ^8,  i6s. ;  amount  of  debt, 
£$0,  5s.  5d.;  tenant's  bid,  £y,  os.  id.  Holding  bought 
in  by  the  agent  for  £2,  los. 

John  Sharkey,  yearly  rent,  £y,  los. ;  amount  of  debt, 
;^40,  3s.  lod. ;  tenant's  bid,  £6.  Holding  knocked  down 
to  Mr.  Flanagan  at  £6,  los. 


174  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

Patrick  Mahon,  yearly  rent,  £4,  los. ;  amount  of  debt, 
£42,  OS.  lod.;  tenant's  bid,  £4.,  os.  id.  Holding  bought 
by  landlord  at  £4,  los. 

The  sale  proved  abortive  except  in  one  case,  that  of 
Thomas  M'Grael,  rent  £2,;  amount  of  debt,  ;^8,  i8s. ; 
tenant's  bid,  £s,  is. ;  at  which  he  was  declared  the 
purchaser. 

Those  tenants  who  were  thus  proceeded  against  repre- 
sent the  better  class  of  tenant  on  the  De  Freyne  estate, 
and  the  reader  may  judge  from  the  paltry  amounts  of 
the  yearly  rent  in  these  cases,  how  infinitesimally  small 
must  be  the  sums  in  question  on  the  very  small  holdings 
of  which  there  are  large  numbers  on  this  estate. 

The  moral  the  British  Government  may  draw  from 
these  proceedings  on  the  De  Freyne  estate  is  that  the 
priests  would  not  be  worth  buying.  If  there  was  no 
serious  agitation  recently,  it  was  because  there  was  no 
distress  or  other  reason  for  it,  not  because  the  priests 
prevented  it. 

The  priest's  power  lies  in  the  direction  of  pampering 
the  people  with  his  religious  ana3sthetics,  pandering 
to  their  idleness  and  degeneracy,  and  taking  advantage 
of  their  failings  to  extract  money  from  them ;  in 
a  word,  his  power  lies  in  debasing  then-  character ; 
and  that  is  why  I  protest  against  it.  But  he  has  no 
power,  except  that  of  the  common  informer  (and  I  do 
not  say  he  would  exercise  it)  to  stop  agitation,  or  even  to 
control  the  people  when  they  become  turbulent.  When 
agitation  is  wanted  it  will  come,  and  then  it  is  better  to 
be  friends  with  the  people  if  it  be  your  duty  to  govern 
the  country,  than  to  be  friends  with  a  class. 


CHAPTER  X 

IN  CONNAUGHT — (continued) 

The  virulence  with  whicli  the  representative  men  in 
this  province  attack  the  constabulary  and  Government 
officials  is  all  the  greater  because  they  do  not  acknow- 
ledge the  real  cause  of  their  own  trouble,  and  allow  its 
authors  to  escape  sleek  and  smiling — as  yet !  The 
Swineford  District  Council,  for  instance,  denounce  the 
action  of  the  County  Court  judge  of  Mayo  in  having 
awarded  ;^ioo  compensation  to  a  constabulary  man 
maliciously  injured  in  the  execution  of  his  duty,  and 
describe  his  statements  in  delivering  judgment  as  "  a 
judicial  blackguardism  which  is  the  chief  prop  of  the 
accursed  system  of  landlordism."  ^ 

I  think  it  is  deplorable  that  such  frothy,  intemperate 
language,  and  the  bad  temper  of  which  it  is  the  un- 
erring index,  should  form  the  readiest  weapon  of  self- 
defence  known  to  our  Connaught  fellow-Catholics. 
They  can  maintain  on  a  pinnacle  of  prosperity  their 
six  bishops  and  their  innumerable  priests  and  nuns, 
and  yet  they  do  not  seem  to  be  aware  that  good  con- 
duct, patience,  and  industry  can  carry  a  man  in  triumph, 
not  alone  over  imagined  slights  put  upon  him  by  a 
County  Court  judge,  or  the  infliction  of  a  penalty  of 
;i^ioo,  but  over  all  the  obstacles  which  human  perse- 
cution can  put  in  his  way.  The  result  of  their  moral 
destitution  is  that  the  constabulary  stationed  amongst 
them,  though  they  are  all  Irishmen  from  other  parts 

^   Freeman's  Journal,  Feliruary  6,  iO'^2. 

'75 


176  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

of  the  island,  treat  them  with  contempt,  and  regard 
themselves  as  superior  beings  to  the  male  viragos  who 
compose  such  resolutions. 

Take  the  following  instance  as  a  proof  of  how  little 
civic  independence,  how  little  individual  liberty,  how 
little  of  the  dignity  of  freemen  and  good  citizens  these 
Mayo  Irishmen  enjoy.  The  Castlebar  Board  of  Guar- 
dians are  assembled  in  meeting.-^  Mr.  J.  Daly,  J.P.,  is  in 
the  chair,  and  there  is  a  numerous  attendance.  Mr. 
Conroy,  master  of  the  workhouse,  presents  a  report : — 

"On  the  i6th  inst.  I  met  Mr.  Conor  O'Kelly,  M.P., 
and  invited  him  to  come  in  to  see  me" — into  Mr. 
Conroy's  apartments  in  the  workhouse.  "  He  promised 
to  do  so.  I  was  checking  the  accounts  for  the  month 
when  he  arrived.  He  had  some  friends  with  him. 
Immediately  afterwards  I  was  informed  that  the  work- 
house was  surrounded  by  the  police,  and  that  some  of 
them  were  inside  the  gate.  I  asked  Sergeant  Hanrahan, 
who  appeared  to  be  in  charge  of  the  men  inside,  to 
remove  them,  and  this  he  refused  to  do.  Two  of  the 
police  luent  round  to  the  female  side  of  the  house.  They 
refused  to  leave  also,  and  until  the  sergeant  came  round 
would  not  give  their  names.  /  ivould  have  put  all  these 
police  out  by  force  if  I  had  had  force  available,  and  went 
so  far  as  to  put  my  hand  on  some  of  their  shoidders  and 
ordered  them  out.  I  consider  it  is  my  duty  as  master 
of  this  institution  not  to  allow  any  person  in  without 
my  permission  or  proper  authority,  and  if  men  can 
station  themselves  on  the  female  side  of  the  house 
without  leave,  I  can  no  longer  be  held  accountable  for 
any  breach  of  morality  that  may  occur.  I  may  add 
that  I  assured  the  sergeant  that  Mr.  O'Kelly's  visit  was 
of  a  private  nature. 

"  Chairman — '  To  my  mind  when  there  is  a  gate  there 
with  a  lock,  the  police  should  not  be  allowed  in.' 

" Mr.  Conroy — 'You  have  no  force  here  to  stop  them, 
when  thirty  police  or  more  come  to  the  gate.' 

1  Mayo  Ncivs,  December  28,  1901. 


POLICE  AMONGST  THE   PERIS  177 

"Chairman — 'And  tvhy  didn't  you  remove  them? 
When  Mr.  Conor  O'Kelly  passed  in  I  would  stand  at 
the  gate,  and  close  it  against  them,  or  they  would  walk 
on  my  corpse.' 

"The  chairman  added  that  he  had  had  some  ex- 
perience of  the  police  conduct  on  the  previous  Monday, 
when  Mr.  Conor  O'Kelly,  Mr.  Judge  of  Claremorris,  and 
some  others  visited  his  house.  It  was  reported  to  him 
that  the  police  were  perched  on  the  water-closet  at  rear 
of  his  premises,  inhaling  the  sweet  perfumes  of  that 
private  apartment.  They  got  in  through  Mrs.  O'Brien's, 
or  some  other  yard  adjoining,  and  were  perched  on  the 
closet  to  try  and  hear  what  was  going  on." 

Somebody  suggested  that  the  police  be  proceeded 
against. 

"  Mr.  Mullen — '  You  might  as  well  let  them  alone ; 
there  is  no  us  in  going  to  law  with  the  devil,  and  the 
court  in  hell.' 

"  Mr.  Conroy — '  Suppose  I  had  a  few  good  strong  men, 
and  brought  them  with  spades  and  pitchforks  to  put  the 
police  out,  what  would  he  the  consequence  ?  The  conduct 
of  those  men  was  outrageous.' 

"  The  following  resolution  prepared  by  the  chairman 
was  unanimously  adopted — 'Resolved — that  we  con- 
demn and  censure  the  conduct  of  the  police  who  forced 
their  way  into  the  workhouse  despite  the  efforts  of  the 
porter ;  they  further  forced  their  presence  into  the 
privacy  of  the  female  side  of  the  house.  We  brand 
their  conduct  on  the  occasion  as  outrageous,  uncalled 
for,  and  such  as  would  not  be  tolerated  by  the  govern- 
ment of  any  country  in  the  world  outside  Ireland.' " 

Let  us  suppose — a  remote  supposition — that  Mr. 
Conroy  had  his  "  few  good  strong  men  with  spades  and 
pitchforks,"  what  then  ?  It  would  have  been  far  better 
for  everybody  concerned  than  this  degenerate  viragoism. 
The  police  are  not  the  only  people  who  disrespect  the 
authorities  of  the  Castlebar  Union  Workhouse.  Mr. 
Conroy  has  another  complaint  to  make :  "  The  matter 

M 


178  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

raised  a  big  question  as  to  the  right  of  people  to  enter 
the  workhouse.  The  other  night  a  tramp  came  in 
without  a  ticket,  made  a  blow  at  him  (master)  and 
smashed  his  knuckles  as^ainst  the  wall." 

The  chairman  said  :  "  The  tramp  should  not  have 
been  allowed  in." 

Mr.  Conroy  said  :  '■  It  could  not  be  avoided  unless 
they  put  a  lamp  at  the  gate.  The  police  rushed  in 
so  quickly  after  Mr.  0' Kelly  and  Mr.  Kir  wan,  and  the 
others,  that  the  gate  could  not  be  shut  against  them." 

I  should  like  to  know  whose  knuckles  it  was  that  the 
tramp  smashed.  Even  the  tramps  and  vagrants  despise 
those  male  termagants  of  Mayo.  A  lamp  at  the  gate  ! 
The  lamp  of  enlightenment  requires  to  be  lit  all  over 
Connaught.  Can  any  one  imagine  a  lower  and  more 
contemptible  existence  than  that  which  our  Mayo 
fellow-Catholics  lead  ?  Let  us  look  into  a  meeting  of 
their  County  Council,  at  which  Mr.  Daly,  J.P.,  pre- 
sides.^ The  solicitor  informs  the  Board  that  a  certain 
contractor  is  bound  to  put  600  boxes  of  stone  and 
gravel  on  certain  roads  during  the  year,  and  that  "  at 
the  present  moment,  three-fourths  of  the  term  of  the 
contract  not  being  up,  he  has  put  502  boxes  out, 
according  to  the  measurement  of  a  competent  sur- 
veyor, while  the  assistant  surveyor  says  he  has  only 
284  boxes  supplied."  The  "competent  surveyor"  is 
evidently  an  outsider ;  the  assistant-surveyor  being  the 
county  official  for  that  district.  It  appears  that  the 
contractor  does  not  give  satisfaction  to  the  county 
surveyor,  and  for  the  reasons  stated  by  the  assistant- 
surveyor.  But  it  is  also  evident  that  the  contractor 
is  a  persona  grata  with  the  Council.  In  order  to 
clinch  the  matter  on  behalf  of  the  contractor,  one  of 
the  members  is   reported    as   stating  that :  "  A  short 

^  Mayo  News,  December  28,  1901. 


SACERDOTAL  ROAD  AUTHORITY        179 

time  ago  he  heard  the  respected  parish  priest  tell  the 
assistant-surveyor  that  the  streets  were  never  in  better 
condition,  and  that  was  stated  in  the  presence  of  a 
district  councillor,"  and  he  added  that  the  contractor 
"  was  a  most  industrious  man,  and  when  a  man  of 
that  class  came  before  them  and  made  a  complaint 
that  he  has  not  met  justice  from  the  deputy  county 
surveyor,  his  complaint  ought  to  be  investigated." 
The  deputy-surveyor  said  "  he  was  sorry  he  could 
not  agree  with  what  had  been  said.  If  he  were  to 
take  the  measurement  given  him  by  every  contractor 
against  the  measurement  of  his  assistant,  he  could 
not  get  on."  But  the  final  argument  for  the  con- 
tractor is  put  in  the  shape  of  the  following  question : 
"  On  the  last  day  I  was  on  the  street,  did  not  the 
canon  say  as  I  have  stated  ? "  Thus  we  find  those 
councillors  appealing  to  the  ohiter  dictum  of  the 
parish  priest  as  against  the  report  of  the  county  sur- 
veyor, m  reference  to  the  condition  of  the  county 
roads. 

The  Mr.  Conor  O'Kelly,  M.P.,  referred  to,  represents 
North  Mayo  in  the  House  of  Commons,  and  is  vice- 
chairman  of  the  Board  of  Guardians,  and  had  just  been 
sentenced  to  a  term  of  imprisonment — hence  the  anxiety 
of  the  police  not  to  lose  sight  of  him  on  the  occasion 
of  his  visits  to  the  workhouse  and  elsewhere ! 

I  drove  from  Westport  to  Murrisk  Abbey  at  the  foot 
of  Croagh  Patrick  Mountain  one  day,  along  the  southern 
shore  of  island-studded  Clew  Bay,  and  passed  Mallow 
Cottage,  the  residence  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  O'Brien. 
On  the  way  we  met  a  farmer  and  his  family  driving  into 
Westport  on  an  outside  car.  The  driver  pointed  the 
man  out  to  me  with  bated  breath,  and  informed  me 
he  was  "  the  bishop's  brother."  The  particular  bishop 
who  reigns  in  that  district  is  Archbishop  MacEvilly  of 


i8o  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

Tuam.  Owing  no  doubt  to  the  distance  of  Westport 
from  Tuam,  and  to  the  enormously  expensive  Catholic 
cathedral  which  has  been  erected  at  Tuam  itself — and 
which  must  have  exhausted  most  of  the  available  build- 
ing money  in  the  diocese — the  ecclesiastical  architecture 
of  Westport,  except  for  an  expensive  new  convent,  is  not 
obtrusive. 

But  the  doings  at  this  new  convent  at  Westport 
sufficiently  indicate  the  activity  of  the  priests  and  nuns. 

"  The  interesting  and  impressive  ceremony  of  the  pro- 
fession of  two  nuns  took  place  in  the  beautiful  chapel 
of  the  Convent  of  Mercy,  Mount  St.  Mary's,  Westport. 
The  two  young  ladies  who  made  their  vows  and  were 
professed  nuns,  thus  having  the  great  happiness  of 
consecrating  their  lives  to  God,  were  Miss  Margaret 
Delaney,  in  religion  Sister  Mary  Ita  (daughter  of 
Mr.  Michael  Delaney,  M.C.C.,  Ballyhaunis),  and  Miss 
Minnie  Coyne  (also  of  Ballyhaunis),  in  religion  Sister 
Mary  Genevieve.  His  Grace,  the  Most  Rev.  Dr. 
MacEvilly,  Archbishop  of  Tuam,  performed  the  cere- 
mony, and  was  assisted  by  Rev.  J.  MacDermott,  Adm., 
Tuam,  and  Rev.  M.  MacDonald,  Adm.,  Westport.  The 
following  clergymen  were  present  at  the  ceremony: 
Rev.  J.  P.  Canning,  P.P.,  Ballyhaunis ;  Rev.  J.  O'Toole, 
P.P.,  Kilmeena;  Rev.  M.  M'Carthy,  C.C,  Westport; 
Rev.  M.  Hannon,  C.C,  Westport,  &c.,  and  other  friends 
of  the  newly-professed  nuns,  who,  after  the  ceremony, 
were  entertained  at  a  sumptuous  dejeiXner  by  the  good 
sisters  of  the  convent."  ^ 

Money  must  be  provided  for  the  dispensers  of  this 
"  sumptuous  dejeuner,"  and  accordingly  I  find  that  on 
the  day  following  this  ceremonial, 

"  at  a  specially  convened  meeting  of  the  Westport  Rural 
District  Council,  Mr.  P.  J.  Kelly,  J.P.,  presiding.  Rev. 
J.  O'Toole,  P.P.,  Kilmeena,  attended  to  ask  the  Council 

^  Freeman's  Journal,  March  6,  1902, 


TECHNICAL  INSTRUCTION   MONEY      i8i 

to  approve  of  the  resolution  he  proposed  at  the  County 
Technical  Instruction  Committee,  that  each  district  or 
parish  should  get  the  money  levied  on  that  district. 
He  was  interested  in  Kilmeena  and  Kilmaclasen,  and 
he  proposed  that  the  money  raised  off  these  districts 
be  handed  over  to  Mrs.  Mary  Golnmha  Carr,  the  Rev. 
Mother  of  Westport  Convent  of  Mercy.  He  found  he 
could  not  establish  a  technical  school  at  once  in  his 
own  parish,  and  that  was  his  reason  for  proposing  that 
the  money  be  handed  over  to  Rev.  Mother  Carr.  He 
would  also  ask  the  Council  to  support  the  levy  of  one 
penny  in  the  pound  for  technical  education  purposes. 
The  Council  unanimously  decided  to  approve  of  Father 
O'Toole's  resolution,  and  to  levy  the  penny  in  the 
pound  for  the  purpose  of  technical  and  agricultural 
instruction." 

Could  any  illustration  better  exemplify  the  supremacy 
of  the  priest  in  Connaught  ? 

We  are  informed  that  at  this  meeting — 

"  Mr.  John  Walsh,  U.D.C.,  said,  as  far  as  the  technical 
instruction  business  was  concerned,  they  were  all  agreed 
that  it  was  a  good  thing ;  but  as  to  the  agricultural 
instruction  he  did  not  agree  to  it,  and  never  would 
(hear,  hear).  They  had  experience  of  the  Congested 
Districts  Board  spending  money  in  several  districts, 
and  so  far  it  was  a  downright  failure." 

If  agricultural  instruction  has  proved  useless  in  the 
hands  of  lay  instructors,  in  a  country  inhabited  ex- 
clusively by  farmers,  as  Mr.  Walsh  describes,  how  can 
he  hope  that  technical  instruction  under  the  manage- 
ment of  the  nuns  of  the  Convent  of  Mercy  will  bear  any 
fruit  in  a  country  where  there  are  no  manufactures, 
and  where  there  is  no  opportunity  for  the  pupils  of 
putting  into  practice  the  theoretical  instruction  which 
will  be  given,  even  if  that  theoretical  instruction  were 
good   of   its    kind  ?     The  technical   instruction   is   as 


i82  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

yet  a  novelty;  but  the  disillusionment  concerning  its 
advantages,  under  the  management  of  priests  and  nuns, 
will  arrive  in  due  time. 

I  inquired  whether  there  was  a  town-hall  in  West- 
port,  and  I  was  informed  that  the  archbishop  had 
purchased  a  vacant  house  and  disposed  of  it  to  the 
commissioners,  who  formerly  had  no  suitable  place 
of  meeting !  The  town  of  Westport  is  situated  on  the 
slopes  rising  up  from  both  banks  of  the  Westport  River. 
It  is  as  badly  situated  a  town  as  one  could  well  see. 
The  Marquis  of  Sligo's  demesne  stands  peremptorily 
between  it  and  the  bay.  Below  this  demesne  there  is 
an  anchorage  for  vessels,  where  the  Westport  River 
flows  into  Clew  Bay.  The  locality  there  is  known  as 
the  Quay,  and  it  is  separated  from  the  town  of  West- 
port  by  the  intervening  demesne  of  the  Marquis  of 
Sligo.  In  order  to  reach  the  Quay  from  the  town  of 
Westport,  one  must  traverse  a  road  which  winds  round 
the  demesne  to  the  south,  ascending  an  exceedingly 
steep  hill  as  it  leaves  the  town,  and  descending  a  pre- 
cipitous decline  as  it  reaches  the  Quay.  There  is  a 
splendid  level  road  from  Westport  to  the  Quay  along 
the  banks  of  the  Westport  River,  but  running  through 
the  centre  of  the  Marquis  of  Sligo's  demesne.  With  a 
generosity  which  is  of  vital  imj)ortance  to  the  towns- 
people of  Westport,  the  Marquis  of  Sligo  allows  the  free 
use  of  this  private  road  for  all  sorts  of  traffic,  vehicular 
and  pedestrian,  except  on  one  day  of  the  year,  when 
the  demesne  gates  are  closed  for  the  purpose  of  techni- 
cally asserting  his  proprietorial  right — and  preventing 
the  establishment  of  a  public  right  of  way. 

Many  of  my  readers  will  have  heard  of  Major  M'Bride, 
who  was  one  of  the  officers  of  the  Irish  commando  in 
the  Boer  war.  He  was  a  candidate  for  the  representa- 
tion of  Mayo  at  the  county  convention,  but  was  beaten 


MAJOR  M'BRIDE  183 

by  Mr.  William  O'Brien's  proU'nt^  Mr.  O'Donnell,  M.P., 
much  to  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  M'Bride  party.     His 
mother   lives  at  the  Quay,  and  is   proprietor  of  the 
principal  shop  there,  which  is  managed  by  his  brother, 
Mr.  Patrick  MBrido,  who  is  also  chairman  of  the  town 
commissioners    of   Westport.      Another    brother,    Mr. 
Joseph  MBrido,  is  secretary  to  the  harbour  commis- 
sioners.    They  are  both  exceedingly  smart  men.     In 
fact  it  would  be  hard  for  one  to  meet  in  a  casual  way 
two   brighter,   healthier,   more    intelligent,   or   better- 
looking  men.     I  had  a  conversation  with  Mr.  Patrick 
M'Bride,   being  interested  in  him  on  account  of  the 
notoriety  of  his  brother  at  the  moment.     His  shop  and 
various  places  of  business  at  the  Quay  do  him  credit, 
being  scrupulously  clean  and  well  managed.     In  the 
course  of  my  drive  outside  the  town,  I  saw  some  land 
and  cattle,  which  attracted  my  attention  by  reason  of 
the  excellence  of  their  condition,  and  I  discovered  that 
they  were  the  property  of  Mr.  Joseph  M' Bride,  secretary 
to  the  harbour  commissioners.     I  ventured  to  ask  Mr. 
Patrick  M'Bride  whether  his  brother,  Major  M'Bride, 
now  in  Paris,  was  a  mauvais  sujet.     His  reply,  delivered 
in  a  tone  of  unimpassioned  aloofness,  was :   "  I  do  not 
see  how  he  can  be ;  he  was  always  a  teetotaler,  and  he 
certainly  had  done  nothing  wrong  before  he  left  us." 
Looking  at  Patrick  M'Bride,  at  Joseph  M'Bride,  at  their 
shops  and  stores  and  lands,  I  felt  forced  to  the  con- 
clusion that  Major  M'Bride  did  what  he  behoved  to  be 
his  duty  in  joining  the  Boers  on  commando  when  the 
war  broke  out.     Patrick  M'Bride  informed  me  that  his 
brother  had  been  in  South  Africa  for  years  before  the 
outbreak  of  war.     He  also  informed  me  that  he  had 
another  brother,  who  was  a  sheep-farmer  in  Australia. 
In  a  word,  the  M'Brides  are  hke  an  oasis  of  energy  in 
the  midst  of  a  desert  of  human  hopelessness.     Their 


1 84  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

brightly-kept  place  at  the  Quay  is  surrounded  by 
gigantic  disused  stores,  twelve  or  thirteen  storeys  high, 
erected  at  a  time  when  an  important  grain  business 
was  done  in  Westport ;  but  which  now,  in  their  deserted 
condition,  look  like  antediluvian  monsters,  remnant 
of  a  bygone  age,  which  the  present-day  pigmies  of 
Westport  are  unable  to  utilise. 

It  seems  the  high- water  mark  of  human  perversity  to 
find  the  West  of  Ireland  people  railing  against  England 
and  everything  English  and  British,  At  Westport 
station  I  saw  an  enormous  train,  full  of  splendid  cattle, 
ready  to  start  for  Dublin  for  shipment  to  England ; 
and  when  one  meets  a  fat  pig  on  the  road,  going  to- 
wards the  Quay,  and  inquires  whither  it  is  being  driven, 
the  answer  is,  to  catch  the  Glasgoio  boat.  In  fact  nearly 
everything  which  the  people  of  the  West  can  profitably 
produce  finds  its  market  in  England.  I  saw  a  crowd 
of  Achill  Island  people,  waiting  at  the  Westport  station 
for  the  Achill  train.  They  were  all  well  dressed — in- 
deed, barefooted,  badly-dressed  people  are  no  longer 
to  be  found  in  Ireland,  outside  of  Dublin.  When 
western  women  go  barefooted  now,  they  do  so  for 
economy,  just  as  Dublin  ladies  take  the  penny  tram 
for  the  purpose  of  saving  their  boots ;  when  they  go 
badly  clad,  they  do  so  to  save  their  good  clothes. 

I  saw  a  very  well-dressed  woman  of  about  forty, 
smoking  a  nickel-spliced  timber  pipe.  She  kept  the 
bowl  of  the  pipe  and  half  the  stem  covered  with  her 
hand,  and  emitted  clouds  of  smoke  from  her  mouth 
in  the  most  unconcerned  manner.  Old  crones 
smoking  short,  dirty,  clay  pipes  are  no  novelty ; 
but  a  well-dressed,  youngish  woman,  with  a  flash 
timber  pipe,  struck  me  as  something  unusual. 

A  driver  whom  I  engaged  in  the  locality  told  me 
that  his  brother  was  fighting  on  the  British  side  in 


"A  GOOD   MAN  FOR  THE   MIN"         185 

South  Africa,  and  that  the  accounts  he  had  from  him 
went  to  show  that  General  Buller  was  a  "  rale  dacint 
man,  a  very  good  man  for  the  min  " ;  whereas  Lord 
Roberts  was  a  "  bloody  scamp."  I  inquired  his  reasons 
for  an  expression  of  opinion  so  totally  opposite  to  the 
public  judgment.  His  answer  was  that  "  Buller  always 
told  the  min  for  never  to  put  themselves  in  any  danger, 
but  for  to  come  back  to  himself  whinever  they  met  any 
opposition."  But  the  unfeeling  "  Roberts  always  gave 
perimptory  orders  for  that  the  min  were  to  go  ahead  and 
take  the  position,  no  matter  how  many  of  them  were  shot 
down  or  wounded  in  so  doing."  I  ventured  to  remind 
him  that  it  was  a  well-known  fact  that  a  master  should 
never  take  the  opinion  of  the  working  men  in  Ireland 
on  the  merits  of  a  steward ;  and  that  the  steward  who 
would  be  a  good  man  in  the  opinion  of  the  labourers 
would  be  a  very  bad  man  for  the  master,  and  I  ex- 
plained that  in  this  particular  instance  the  British 
taxpayers  were  masters ;  that  Lord  Roberts  or  General 
Buller,  as  the  case  might  be,  was  the  steward,  and  that 
the  soldiers  Avere  the  working  men.  He  agreed  with 
me,  but  I  feel  sure  he  would  have  agreed  Avith  me  with 
equal  readiness  if  I  had  said  the  direct  opposite. 

One  finds  the  Archbishop  of  Tuam — whose  brother  I 
was  thus  fortunate  enough  to  have  seen — like  all  the 
other  Catholic  bishops  of  Ireland,  giving  personal  sub- 
scriptions of  princely  amounts  for  the  building  of 
churches  in  his  diocese.  The  contrast  between  the  vast 
episcopal  subscriptions  to  churches  in  Connaught,  as 
well  as  in  the  rest  of  Ireland,  and  the  small  individual 
sums  given  by  the  bulk  of  the  laity,  supplies  a  true 
index  to  the  relative  wealth  of  the  clergy  and  the  laity. 
We  find,  for  instance,  that  when  Canon  M'Alpine  wants 
to  build  his  "  Star  of  the  Sea "  church  in  this  im- 
poverished region,  he  receives  a  subscription  of  £60 


1 86  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

from  the  Archbishop  of  Tuani ;  a  subscription  of  ^30 
from  the  Rev.  J.  M'Dermot,  C.A.,  one  of  the  arch- 
bishop's administrators  in  Tuam ;  and  £$  from  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Brett,  CO.,  a  curate  in  Clifden,  close  at  hand. 
While  the  highest  subscriptions  received  from  the  laity 
come  from  female  national  teachers,  many  of  whom 
subscribe  £2,  los.  each,  if  we  except  one  or  two  anony- 
mous donors  of  ;^5.^ 

There  are  occasional  signs  of  restiveness  amongst  the 
poor  lay  folk  in  Connaught ;  a  gUmmering  of  a  percep- 
tion that  all  is  not  right  with  them ;  and  that,  perhaps, 
the  fault  does  not  entirely  lie  with  the  British  Govern- 
ment. I  find,  for  instance,  one  of  the  little  Connaught 
papers  printing  the  following  in  an  article : — 

"There  were  families  so  poor  in  Ireland  that  they 
reared  the  pig  or  the  calf  on  the  floor  with  themselves ; 
they  were  so  poor  that  they  could  not  erect  a  shelter 
outside  their  house  for  these  animals,  whereas  the 
Government  had  passed  a  sanitary  law  making  it  a 
punishable  offence  to  keep  them  inside."  Commenting 
upon  this  state  of  affairs,  the  newspaper  had  stated  that 
"  the  Catholic  religion  is  a  miserable  religion  in  some 
respects.  .  .  .  The  clergy  have  kept  the  Bible  from  the 
people,  and  have  been  its  sole  exponents  themselves, 
and  expounded  only  its  rewards  of  poverty."  For  thus 
writing,  the  newspaper  informs  us  that  "  a  Catholic  and 
a  Protestant  clergyman  have  both  desired  us  to  send  on 
their  bills  and  close  their  accoimts."  The  action  of  the 
subscribers  elicited  the  following  explanation :  "  Of  the 
Catholic  religion  we  said  it  is  '  a  miserable  religion  in 
some  respects.'  Of  course,  we  meant  j^olitically,  as  the 
context  shows.  ...  If  we  could  drive  the  pig  from 
the  poor  man's  bedside  in  Ireland,  we  should  welcome 
the  frown  and  even  the  anathema  of  every  cleric 
of  every  persuasion  in  this  land.  .  .  .  On  religious 
policy,  except  where  social   and  pohtical  interests  are 

1  Freeman's  Journal,  February  1902. 


NOTHING  BUT  RELIGION  187 

involved,  we  should  never  even  remotely  reflect ;  but  we 
are  quite  prepared  to  hear  schemers  and  hypocrites  tell 
us  that  such  remarks  as  we  may  make  are  dictated  by 
clerical  animus."  ^ 

Our  little  newspaper,  it  is  to  be  remarked,  claims 
its  right  to  discuss  religious  policy  "  where  social  and 
political  interests  are  involved."  But  is  it  not  evident 
to  every  reader  of  this  chapter  that  "  reUgious  policy  " 
in  Connaught,  no  matter  what  particular  phase  of  it  we 
contemplate,  is  inseparably  intermixed  with  "  social  and 
political  interests  "  ?  It  is  a  common  assertion,  indeed, 
both  of  the  priests,  and  of  many  of  the  poor  people 
themselves  that,  '  if  you  took  away  their  religion  from 
them,  they  would  have  nothing  left " !  It  is  unfor- 
tunate that  their  religion  should  be  all  external  ob- 
servance— a  thing  apart  from  themselves — instead  of 
being  an  inalienable  portion  of  their  beings,  independent 
of  time  or  place,  and  based  upon  conviction !  There 
is,  in  truth,  almost  nothing  but  "  religion "  in  this 
Connaught  pandemonium.  And  out  of  that  religion 
the  priestly  class  extract  whatever  comfort,  respect, 
authority  and  wealth  there  is  to  be  had  in  Catholic 
Connaught ;  and  out  of  it  the  laity  only  get  trouble, 
mystification,  and  helplessness. 

Let  us  examine  some  of  the  evidences  of  that  mysti- 
fication in  the  next  chapter,  and  we  shall  afterwards 
return  to  Connaught. 

'  The  Galway  Leader,  August  17,  1901. 


CHAPTER  XI 

MASSES,    MENDICANCY,    AND    MYSTIFICATION 

"They  shall  throughly  glean  the  i-emnaut  of  Israel  as  a  vine." 

— Jekemiah  vi.  9. 

When  the  great  reapers,  namely,  the  Pope,  the  Arch- 
bishops, Bishops,  Parish  Priests,  Curates,  and  the  estab- 
Hshed  Regular  Orders,  male  and  female,  have  shorn 
their  crops,  "  both  the  barley  harvest  and  the  wheat 
harvest,"  their  hundreds  and  thousands,  in  Ireland,  the 
stray  gleanings,  the  pounds,  shillings,  and  pence,  are  not 
left  for  the  poor,  the  stranger,  the  fatherless  and  the 
widow.  The  smaller  priests  and  nuns  then  come  on 
the  field,  and  treat  the  remnant  of  Ireland  as  her  ene- 
mies were  wont  to  treat  the  daughter  of  Zion ;  they 
"  glean  her  throughly  "  as  a  vine ;  and  when  they  have 
done  with  her,  there  is  not  an  atom  left. 

The  Poor  Souls'  Friend  and  St.  Joseph's  Monitor  is 
one  of  the  gleaners  which  occupies  a  unique  position 
amongst  the  world's  Press.  I  have  heard  that  there  are 
papers  published  nowadays  in  the  especial  interest  of 
every  trade,  profession,  fashion,  society,  creed,  rank,  and 
class  of  human  beings  who  inhabit  the  earth.  But  The 
Poor  Souls'  Friend  and  St,  Joseph's  Monitor  claims  for 
itself  that  it  is  published  on  behalf  of  and  "  devoted,  as 
its  name  implies,  to  the  interests  of  the  Holy  Souls  in 
Purgatory."  It  is  a  monthly  magazine,  and  "  has  been 
blessed  by  his  Holiness  Pope  Leo  XIII."     The  Irish 

clerics  and  laity  are  urgently  mvited  to  subscribe  to  it, 

188 


CAMPOCAVALLO  189 

and  it  seems  very  cheap  for  a  monthly  magazine  at 
IS.  6d.  per  annum.  Curious  to  say,  it  is  not  brought 
out  in  purgatory ;  or,  if  it  is,  it  also  has  a  terrestrial 
ojQfice,  which  is  the  only  address  it  gives,  viz.,  Poor  Souls 
Frictul,  Chudleigh,  Devon — that  great  southern  county, 
the  home  of  the  Devon  worthies.  Its  advertisement 
informs  the  Irish  people  that — 

"  It  is  adapted  to  spiritual  reading,  both  in  the  cloister 
and  in  every  Catholic  home.  Its  tone  is  bright  and 
healthy,  with  a  life-giving  faith.  As  a  literary  composi- 
tion it  fairly  ranks  with  our  best  classical  periodicals. 
In  the  new  series  of  the  magazine  will  appear  passages 
taken  from  the  Revelations  of  St.  Bridget  of  Sweden,  on 
the  state  of  the  suffering  souls  in  Purgatory,  by  the 
learned  Benedictine  Father  Dom  Adam  Hamilton. 
These  passages  beautifully  illustrate  the  doctrine  of  the 
Church  in  reference  to  the  souls  of  the  faithful  departed. 
The  Holy  Souls  appear  before  us  in  a  new  and  startling 
light,  imploring  our  compassionate  help  in  their  behalf, 
by  prayers,  almsdeeds,  and  sacrifices." 

"  Our  Lady  of  Campocavallo  "  seems  the  latest  con- 
tinental phase  in  which  the  Blessed  Virgin  is  brought 
before  the  Irish  Catholics.  It  may  interest  the  late 
Prime  Minister,  for  Lord  Salisbury  was  complimented 
recently  by  Lord  Braye,  one  of  the  loud-braying  herd 
of  English  Catholic  peers,  upon  having  "  bowed  his 
head  "  in  the  House  of  Lords  when  mentioning  the 
Blessed  Virgin's  name.  It  is  true  that  Lord  Salisbury 
disclaimed  the  tender  flattery.  He  had  not  been  so 
chivalrous.  And  he  got  very  angry  about  it,  and  told 
Lord  Braye  not  to  bray  any  more  in  that  key.  That  bray 
must  have  been  more  efiective  than  a  lion's  roar  upon 
the  Prime  Minister,  who,  till  then,  seemed  in  such  close 
touch  with  the  herd.  Well,  amongst  a  host  of  others, 
the  following  sums  have  been  received  for  the  shrine  at 
Campocavallo  and  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  Portlaw  : — 


I90  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

"  A  Poor  Orphan  Girl,  5d. ;  One  who  trusts  in  Our 
Lady  of  Dolours,  is.  for  candles;  Kate's  petition,  3d.; 
Mrs.  Culhane,  i  s. ;  One  who  believes  Our  Lady  of 
Dolours  will  obtain  her  requests,  gd." 

At  first  one  may  not  understand  the  use  of  such  a 
charity  in  Ireland  as  The  Homeless  Child  and  St. 
Joseph's  Union,  New  York,  until  one  hears  that — 

"  Certificates  of  membership  and  Messenger  for  year 
can  be  had  from  Mr.  R.  P.  Keogh  or  Miss  M.  O'Reilly, 
Dublin.  Subscription,  is.;  if  by  post,  is.  id.  Spiritual 
advantage — 5122  masses  celebrated  during  year  for  in- 
tentions of  members.     Postal  orders  preferred." 

With  a  powerful  spiritual  machinery,  capable  of 
turning  out  a  hundred  masses  a  week  for  its  members, 
this  society,  seeing  that  masses  are  in  such  demand, 
ought  to  receive  large  support  in  Ireland.  A  hundred 
pounds  to  such  a  society  would  secure  as  many  masses 
as  a  thousand  pounds  would  obtain  at  home  in  the 
ordinary  way. 

Then  there  is 

"  The  Mission  of  St.  Peter  and  the  Enghsh  Martyrs, 
Leicester,  which  is  without  church,  school,  or  presby- 
tery. Mass  said  in  a  warehouse.  £600  required  at  once. 
Please  send  offering  to  Rev.  F.  May,  St.  Peter's,  Noble 
Street,  Leicester." 

Mass  said  in  a  warehouse  !  Seeing  the  flagrant  way 
masses  are  bought  at  so  many  to  the  pound,  Avhy  should 
they  not  be  said  in  a  warehouse  ?  Or,  rather,  is  not  the 
noblest  temple  converted  into  a  warehouse  by  such  a 
trafiic  in  masses  ? 

The  "  Arch-Confraternity  of  St.  Joseph,  Protector  of 
the  Souls  in  Purgatory,"  is  described  as  "  a  thoroughly 
Irish  work."  Its  advertisement  is  surmounted  by  a 
large  picture  of  a  priest  elevating  the  Host  before  an 


SAINT  JOSEPH  191 

altar,  in  the  centre  of  which  is  St.  Joseph,  holding  in 
his  arms  the  infant  Redeemer,  and  two  lay  figures 
kneeling  outside  the  rails  in  an  ecstasy  of  devotion. 
Its  objects  are — 

"(i)  To  honour  the  glorious  patriarch  St.  Joseph, 
as  protector  of  the  souls  in  purgatory ;  (2)  to  hasten 
the  relief  of  the  suffering  souls  by  masses  and  other 
good  works;  (3)  to  provide  for  the  priestly  education 
of  poor  Irish  boys  for  the  Foreign  Mission,  where  priests 
are  badly  wanted.  These  boys  will  be  specially  devoted 
to  the  interests  of  St.  Joseph  and  of  the  Holy  Souls." 

I  used  to  be  instructed  that  St.  Joseph  Avas  the 
patron  of  a  happy  death.  Why  then  bracket  him  with 
those  souls  who  have  not  gone  to  heaven  ?  We  are 
told  that — 

"  All  associates  and  friends  of  the  Apostolic  students 
should  take  the  magazine  of  the  arch-confraternity,  St. 
Joseph's  Sheaf,  prepaid,  is.  annually,  post  free.  N.B. — 
Besides  many  other  spiritual  privileges,  masses,  and 
plenary  indulgences,  those  who  annually  subscribe  £1 
(or  who  join  with  three  others  in  subscribing  5s.  each) 
to  the  fund  for  supporting  St.  Joseph's  Young  Priests, 
have  a  share  in  seven  additional  masses  each  week  (or 
365  in  the  year),  which  are  offered  in  Ireland  for  their 
special  intentions.  Address  Secretary,  Eblana  Terrace, 
Kingstown." 

Here  is  the  result  of  one  week's  gleanings,  the  sub- 
scribers being  all  apparently  ladies : — 

"  Mrs.  Little,  New  Brighton,  Monkstown  (annual),  £  i  ; 
Y.  A.  M.  (for  the  grace  of  a  happy  death),  £1  ;  Miss 
M'Donnell,  Merrion  Square,  £1  ;  Rev.  Mother  M. 
Benedict,  St.  Joseph's  Convent,  Perth,  N.S.W.,  £1 ; 
'Ballymote,'  5s.;  A  Mother,  Doo  Castle,  county  Mayo 
(quarterly  instalments),  5  s. ;  J.  Dolan,  Ballenalee,  5  s. ; 
An  Unworthy  Client  of  St.  Joseph,  Bandon  (special 
intentions),  4s.;  A  Widow's  Offering,  ^i  ;  per  M.  Cole 


192  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

(in  thanksgiving),  2S.  6d. ;  Mrs.  Lawlor,  Grumsmuklen, 
Hanover  (in  thanksgiving  to  St.  Joseph  for  temporal 
favour),  £^  ;  per  Sisters  of  Mercy,  St.  Michael's  Hospi- 
tal, Cork,  Edmund  R.  Conron,  Esq.  (annual),  £i ;  Niel 
A.  Galway,  Esq.  (annual),  £i  ;  Mrs.  Scully,  24  Victoria 
Street,  Dublin,  £1. 

There  is  a  new  claimant  for  pecuniary  gleanings,  who 
bids  fair  to  give  St.  Anthony  of  Padua  some  trouble,  and 
carry  off  some  of  that  great  gleaner's  clients.  And  that 
is  "  The  wonder-worker  of  our  days  and  patron  of  a 
good  Confession,  '  Blessed  Gerard  Majella,'  post  free — 
I  copy,  ijd. ;  2  copies,  2|d. ;  4  copies,  6d. ;  12  copies, 
I  od.  From  the  Manager,  1 1  Clonard  Gardens,  Belfast." 
The  way  Blessed  Gerard  is  creeping  into  notoriety  may 
be  judged  from  the  following  announcements,  in  one  of 
which  he  appears  bracketed  with  the  Blessed  Virgin 
and  St.  Anthony,  and  in  the  other  of  which  he  is  credited 
with  an  achievement  wrought  solely  by  himself.  It 
may  be  due  in  part  to  Belfast  energy. 

"E.  de  M.  publishes  thanks  to  Our  Lady  of  Good 
Success,  St.  Anthony,  and  Blessed  Gerard,  for  favour 
regarding  confession."  "A  Scrupulous  Soul  returns 
thanks  to  Blessed  Gerard  for  great  peace  of  mind,  after 
making  a  Jubilee  confession,  and  asks  his  protection 
in  the  future." 

Next  we  have  a  large  advertisement  at  the  head  of 
which  is  a  bust  of  our  Saviour,  and  at  the  foot  of  which 
is  a  square  stone  with  the  Heart  of  Jesus  surrounded 
by  a  crown  of  thorns  engraved  in  the  middle  of  it.  It 
is  about  the  "  New  Church  of  the  Sacred  Heart  in 
North-East  Kent,"  for  which  Francis,  Bishop  of  South- 
wark,  tells  the  Irish  people  that  ;^500  is  still  needed. 
He  says  he  has  "  almost  gone  beyond  the  bounds  of 
prudence  himself  in  granting  substantial  aid  from 
diocesan   resources"   for  the  building  of  the  church. 


t 


The  Vision  of  Margaret  Mary 

"  Those  who  promote  this  Devotion  shall  have  their  names  written 
in  My  Heart,  never  to  be  blotted  out,  li-c."  (p.  193). 

"Tlie  centre  one  is  a  memorial  window,  and  represents  the 
apparition  of  the  Sacred  Heart  to  the  blessed  Margaret  Mary 
Alacoque  "  (p.  217). 


d 


THE  SACRED  HEART  193 

"  The  foundation-stone  was  laid  on  June  26,  1 90 1 ,"  and, 
on  that  occasion,  the  Bishop  of  Southwark  is  quoted  as 
having  said :  "  It  is  evident  that  the  great  undertaking 
has  the  blessing  of  God  upon  it,"  Then  follows  a  much 
more  important  quotation  : — 

" '  Those  who  promote  this  Devotion  shall  have  their 
names  written  in  My  Heart,  never  to  be  blotted  out.  I 
will  be  their  secure  refuge  during  life  and,  especially, 
in  death! — Promises  of  Our  Lord  to  Blessed  Margaret 
Mary." 

Father  O'Sullivan  adds  for  himself: — 

"  Good  reader,  send  your  mite  and  promote  this 
Devotion  in  North-East  Kent,  the  cradle  of  English 
Christianity.  Large  donations  are  not  sought  (though 
they  are  not  objected  to).  What  is  sought  is  the  willing 
co-operation  of  all  devout  clients  of  the  Sacred  Heart 
in  England,  Ireland,  Scotland,  Wales,  and  the  Colonies. 
Eivch  client  is  asked  to  send  a  small  offering — to  put  a 
few  bricks  (ten  a  shilling),  in  the  new  church,  as  a  little 
act  of  devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart  at  the  dawn  of  the 
twentieth  century,  which  is  to  be  the  century  of  the 
Sacred  Heart.  Constant  prayers  and  many  masses 
for  benefactors." 

Nor  does  this  exhaust  the  inducements  to  complete 
the  ^500  deficiency: — 

"  The  Sisters  in  religion  of  Blessed  Margaret  Mary 
Alacoque  send  a  stone  from  Paray-le-Monial  for  the 
new  church  of  the  Sacred  Heart  in  North-East  Kent, 
which  was  taken  from  the  floor  of  the  old  infirmary  in 
which  the  Blessed  Margaret  Mary  for  a  long  time  carried 
out  duties  of  charity  by  the  side  of  the  sick,  and  in 
which  she  herself  died." 

And  for  the  allurement  of  weak  vessels,  who  will 
not  lead,  but  will  only  follow.  Father  O'Sullivan  thus 
winds  up  : — 

N 


104  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE! 

"  Amongst  those  who  have  considered  it  a  privilege 
to  have  a  share  in  the  work  of  raising  up  this  new 
shrine  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  and  whose  generous  dona- 
tions have  made  it  possible  to  begin  the  work  this  first 
year  of  the  twentieth  century  are:  Lady  Russell  of 
Killowen,  Lady  Southwell,  Lady  Herbert  of  Lea,  Lady 
Brompton,  Lady  Petre,  Lady  Mathew,  Lady  Beding- 
lield,  Lady  Austin,  the  Baroness  Keatinge,  the  Duke  of 
Norfolk,  the  Marquis  of  Bute  (R.I.P.),  the  Marquis  of 
Ripon,  Lord  Brampton  (late  Mr.  Justice  Hawkins),  Lord 
Llandaff',  Lord  Vaux  of  Harrowden,  Lord  Southwell, 
Admiral  Lord  Walter  Kerr,  Mr.  Justice  Mathew,  Sir 
Henry  Bedingtield,  and  many  others  well  known  for 
their  zeal  in  the  interests  of  the  ancient  faith.  Where 
these  lead  in  a  work  for  that  faith  no  Catholic  need 
hesitate  to  follow." 

I  should  think  not  indeed ;  but,  then,  why  did  they 
not  finish  the  church  ?  Who  could  hesitate  to  follow 
the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  the  South  African  Lord  Howard 
of  Effingham  ?  It  may  be  a  matter  of  marvel  that  I 
should  dare  to  say  that  I  have  not  an  exalted  opinion  of 
the  intellectual  strength  of  the  ex-Postmaster-General, 
who  desires  to  restore  the  temporal  sovereignty  of  the 
Pope.  So  far  as  I  have  an  opportunity  of  judging,  no 
man  in  England  is  being  exploited  for  worse  ends ;  and, 
I  venture  to  say,  on  behalf  of  Catholic  Ireland,  that  it 
is  not  because  a  man  happens  to  be  hereditary  Earl 
Marshal  of  England  that  he  is  deserving  of  respect ;  or 
that  his  example  should  be  followed.  When  Cardinal 
Vaughan  pleases  to  show  the  hereditary  Earl  Marshal's 
paces,  is  it  not  always  evident  that  the  Duke  of  Nor- 
folk, K.G.,  is  ready  to  be  led  ?  That  seems  his  metier. 
But  he  is  not,  therefore,  fit  to  command,  as  Lord 
Howard  nominally  did,  a  Drake,  a  Hawkins,  and  a 
Frobisher,  or  to  defeat  a  Spanish  Armada  sailing  up 
channel  to  crush  English  Protestantism,  and  enslave 
the  English  realm. 


I 


THE  DUKE  OF  NORFOLK  195 

Let  us  study  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  at  work : — 

"Early  on  Friday  morning,  26th  July  1901,  the 
remains  of  St.  Edmund,  king  and  martyr,  which  arrived 
from  Rome  on  the  previous  night,  were  carried  from  the 
altar  of  the  Fitzalan  Chapel  to  the  douicstic  chapel  of 
Arundel  Castle.  During  the  night  gold  lamps,  supplied 
by  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  for  great  occasions,  were  used 
to  light  the  altar  in  the  Fitzalan  Chapel.  There  was 
no  sacred  vigil,  but  nuns  remained  at  prayer  in  the 
chapel  till  nearly  midnight.  At  8.30  the  ceremony  of  re- 
moval was  conducted  by  Cardinal  Vaughan.  The  children 
of  the  Catholic  school  were  formed  in  procession  outside 
the  Fitzalan  Chapel  and  led  the  way  through  the  park. 
Immediately  following  them  walked  acolytes  and  servers 
with  candles  ligliting  a  way  for  the  bier  upon  which  the 
relics  in  a  small  casket  were  borne  by  the  priests  with 
six  torch-bearers  on  either  side.  Behind  these  followed 
the  cardinal  in  red  cap  and  i-obe,  the  Duke  of  Norfolk, 
Lady  Mary  Howard,  Archbishop  Merry  del  Val,  Arch- 
bishop Stonor,  Bishop  Brindle,  D.S.O.,  the  Bishop  of 
SouthAvark,  and  the  Bishop  of  Emmaus.  In  the  castle 
chapel  there  was  a  short  service.  Mass  was  said  by 
Dr.  Bourne,  followed  by  a  short  discourse  on  the 
character  of  St.  Edmund  by  the  cardinal. 

"His  Eminence  commended  St.  Edmund  to  the 
veneration  of  Catholics,  and  explained  that  the  Pope, 
out  of  his  goodwill  to  England,  had  sent  these  sacred 
relics,  which  must  bo  dear  to  all  Englishmen,  and  the 
Pope  had  wished  that  till  such  time  as  the  new  cathe- 
dral at  Westminster  was  ready  to  receive  them,  they 
should  remain  in  the  custody  of  the  Duke  of  Norfolk, 
Earl  Marshal  of  England." 

The  Duke  of  Norfolk  seems  a  modern  Roman  of  "  the 
Pope's  set,"  rather  than  an  Englishman.  It  was  men  of 
his  type  who  paved  the  way  for  two  great  revolutions, 
in  1649  ^^^  1688  ;  and  Englishmen  should  not  like  to 
see  such  men  at  the  Post  Office  or  in  the  Cabinet.  It 
appears  that  a  week  or  two  after  this  demonstration, 


196  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

it  was  proved  that  the  relics  could  not  possibly  have 
been  those  of  Edmund  the  martyr,  but  were  spurious 
relics  ! 

Our  religion  is  not  the  only  one  that  cultivates 
relics,  and  makes  itself  foolish  over  the  devotion. 
It  reminds  me  of  the  story  told  about  the  Prophets' 
Tombs  in  Syria  :  ^ — 

"  Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  great  Sheikh  Ali,  a 
holy  man,  who  kept  a  holy  tomb  of  an  ancient  prophet. 
Men  with  sore  eyes  came  to  visit  it  and  were  cured. 
The  earth  around  the  tomb  was  carried  off  to  be  used 
as  medicine.  Women  came  and  tied  old  rags  on  the 
limbs  of  the  tree  as  vows  to  the  wonderful  prophet. 
Nobody  knew  the  name  of  the  prophet,  but  the  tomb 
was  called  Kvhr  en  Nehi,  or  Tomb  of  the  Prophet." 

Does  not  this  correspond  precisely  to  the  proceedings 
at  Knock  ?  Even  to  carrying  off  the  mortar  of  the 
walls,  and  using  it  as  medicine.  The  Sheikh  was 
becomingf  a  rich  man,  and  he  had  a  faithful  servant 
named  Mohammed  who  grew  tired  of  living  in  the 
same  place  all  his  life,  and  asked  his  master's  per- 
mission to  leave.  Sheikh  Ali  "  gave  him  his  blessing, 
and  presented  him  with  a  donkey.  He  went  through 
cities,  and  towns,  and  villages,  and  at  last  came  out  on 
the  mountains  east  of  the  Jordan  in  a  deserted  place. 
Tired,  hungry,  and  discouraged,  poor  Mohammed  lay 
down  by  his  donkey  on  a  great  pile  of  stones  and  fell 
asleep.  In  the  morning  he  awoke,  and,  alas,  his  donkey 
was  dead ! "  Mohammed  covered  the  corpse  of  the 
donkey  with  a  pile  of  stones,  so  that  it  might  not  be 
devoured  by  the  jackals  and  vultures.  And  he  sat 
down  and  wept  by  the  remains. 

A  wealthy  hajji  or  pilgrim  happened  to  pass  by  on 
his  return  from  Mecca,  and  surprised  at  seeing  the  man 

1  "i'iotured  Pale.-tine,"  by  Jamts  Neil. 


"BLESS  THE  DONKEYS!"  197 

all  alone  in  the  wilderness,  came  up  to  him  and  asked 
why  he  was  crying.  The  ready-witted  Eastern  liar 
replied,  "  Oh,  hajji,  I  have  found  the  tomb  of  a  holy 
prophet,  and  I  have  vowed  to  be  its  keeper,  but  I  have 
no  money  and  I  am  out  of  provisions,  and  I  am  in  great 
distress,  but  notwithstanding  I  will  not  desert  the  tomb 
of  the  prophet."  The  wealthy  pilgrim  gave  Mohammed 
a  rich  present,  and  spread  the  news  of  the  ncAv  prophet's 
tomb  wherever  he  went,  and  "  pilgrims  thronged  to  the 
spot  with  rich  presents  and  ofiferings."  After  a  time 
Mohammed  increased  in  fame  and  wealth,  and  the 
Prophet's  Tomb  became  one  of  the  great  shrines  of  the 
land.  At  length  Sheikh  Ali  heard  of  the  great  success 
of  this  new  Prophet's  Tomb.  He  paid  a  visit  to  it,  and 
recognised  in  its  keeper  his  old  servant,  Mohammed. 
Having  got  Mohammed  alone  with  him,  he  pressed 
him  to  tell  him  who  the  prophet  was  in  honour  of 
which  the  shrine  was  built,  and  Mohammed  said,  "  My 
honoured  Sheikh,  you  remember  having  given  me  a 
donkey  ?  This  is  the  tomb  of  that  donkey."  Then 
Mohammed  asked  Sheikh  Ali  to  impart  to  him  what 
was  the  sirr  (mystery)  of  his  Prophet's  Tomb.  Sheikh 
Ali  whispered  to  Mohammed,  "  And  my  holy  place  is 
the  tomb  of  your  donkey's  father ! "  "  Mashallah," 
said  Mohammed,  "  may  Allah  bless  the  beard  of  the 
holy  donkeys  ! " 

The  poor  Catholics  in  Ireland  are  constantly  informed 
that  the  "  brightest  intellects  "  in  England  are  coming 
over  to  the  St.  Anthony  and  Blessed  Gerard  devotions 
every  day.  It  is  disappointing  to  learn  that  those 
"  bright  intellects  "  are  always  to  be  found  in  the  House 
of  Lords — an  assembly  which  does  not  get  credit  for 
brightness — especially  so  when  there  are  but  three 
Roman  Catholic  members  for  all  Great  Britain  in  the 
House  of  Commons : — 


198  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

"A  legal  correspondent  writes  that  Lord  Rosebery, 
in  his  latest  speech  on  the  Royal  Declaration  Bill,  con- 
trived to  pay  a  handsome  compliment  to  a  well-known 
judge:  '  It  is  supposed  that  men  only  join  the  Church 
of  Rome  in  early  life  ? '  he  asked.  '  There  is — I  hope  I 
may  be  pardoned  for  the  allusion — one  of  the  brightest 
intellects  of  this  House,  a  Law  Lord,  who  gave  in  his 
adhesion  to  the  Church  of  Rome  long  after  he  had 
passed  the  ordinary  span  of  years.'  Lord  Rosebery 
referred,  of  course,  to  Lord  Brampton  (better  known  as 
Sir  Henry  Hawkins)."  ^ 

It  Avould  be  more  convincing  to  me  if  Sir  Henry 
Hawkins  had  come  over  to  us  when  he  was  a  younger 
man.  But  if  all  the  rich  old  gentlemen  in  England, 
over  seventy  years  of  age,  whether  they  be  dukes  or 
judges,  chose  to  become  Roman  Catholics,  it  would  not 
atone  for  the  loss  inflicted  on  humanity  in  Ireland  by  such 
practices  as  I  describe,  by  which  the  minds  of  the  male 
and  female  youth  of  an  intelligent  race  are  dwarfed  and 
warped  at  the  outset  of  their  lives.  It  is  not  to  deliver 
such  a  message  that  his  king  and  country  will  ever  say 
to  the  talented  ex-premier  and  future  prime  minister: — 

"  Come,  Rosebery,  from  Dalmeny's  shade." 

But  enough  of  those  rich  English  noblemen  for  the 
present ;  let  us  return  to  the  gleaners  in  Ireland. 

Under  the  multitudinous  headings  :  "  Ireland's  Con- 
secration to  the  Sacred  Heart,"  "  The  Lamp  at  the  Holy 
Shrines,"  "  Commemorating  the  Jubilee,"  "  ;i^20,  4s.  id. 
Still  Needed,"  "  For  the  Permanent  Burning  of  Ireland's 
Lamp  at  the  Shrine  of  Jerusalem,"  are  acknowledged  a 
number  of  subscriptions,  half-sovereigns,  five-shilling 
pieces,  half-crowns,  and  shillings  from  such  persons  as, 
"  A  Lady  (for  a  special  intention),"  "  M.D.  (in  thanks- 
giving)," "  A  sincere  lover  of  St.  Joseph,"  "  S.  M.  B.  (for 

1  Irish  Catholic,  August  lo,  1901. 


THE   HOLY   FACE  199 

repose  of  persons  departed,  B.I.P.);'  and  many  others. 
"  All  those  who  are  subscribers  or  joint  subscribers  to 
the  fund  obtain  a  share  in  the  365  masses,  which  are 
said  annually  for  the  benefactors  of  St.  Joseph's  young 
priests.  Smaller  sums  will  be  also  gratefully  acknow- 
ledged." And  that  is  holy  Ireland's  infantile  manner 
of  participating  in  the  Christian  work  which  is  going 
on  in  Palestine. 

Here  is  a  circular  addressed  to  myself  by  post,  and 
accompanied  by  a  most  revolting  picture  of  the  Holy 
Face,  said  to  be  Vera  effigies  sacri  vultus  D.  N.  Jesu 
Christi : — 

"  Proposed  Sanctuary  in  honour  of  the  Holy  Face 
and  Five  Wounds  of  Jesus. 

"  1902. 

"  Dear  Friend, — In  honour  of  the  Holy  Face  and 
Five  Wounds  of  Jesus  help  me  to  erect  an  altar  in 
Rushden,  an  outlying  district  of  this  Mission  of  Our 
Lady  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  Wellingborough.  The  Bishop 
of  Northampton  blesses  this  appeal.  Think !  There 
are  little  Catholic  Children  growing  up  in  Rushden 
without  Mass,  without  the  Sacraments  and  without 
Religious  Instructions !  Christ  says,  '  Suffer  the  little 
children  to  come  unto  Me.'  May  these  Holy  Words 
lead  you  to  help  me  to  build  a  Sanctuary  in  honour  of 
the  Holy  Face  and  Five  Wounds  of  Jesus,  and  for  the 
Salvation  of  Souls  at  Rushden.  Blessed  Medals  and 
Pictures  of  the  Holy  Face  can  be  obtained  of  me. 

"  Rev.  B.  Murray. 

"  Sufficient  address  is  Wellingboro',  England. 
"  The  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  will  be  offered  up  for 
you  and  all  who  read  this  letter." 

I  suppose  the  following  special  prayer  which  accom- 
panies the  circular  has  reference  to  the  coronation  oath 
which  the  pious  Fireman  always  deals  with  under  the 
heading  of  '•  The  King's  Blasphemy  "  : — ^ 


200  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

"  I  salute  Thee,  I  adore  Thee,  and  I  love  Thee,  O 
Jesus  my  Saviour,  outraged  anew  by  blasphemers,  and 
I  offer  Thee,  through  the  heart  of  Thy  blessed  Mother, 
the  worship  of  all  the  Angels  and  Saints,  as  an  incense 
and  a  perfume  of  sweet  odour,  most  humbly  beseeching 
Thee,  by  the  virtue  of  Thy  sacred  Face,  to  repair  and 
renew  in  me  and  in  all  men  Thy  image  disfigured  by 
sin. — Amen.     Pater,  Ave,  Gloria." 

Here  is  another  postal  appeal  addressed  to  me : — 

"  The  Festival  of  the  Glorious  St.  Joseph,  the  Catholic 
Church,  Easingwold,  Yorks.  Seven  Novenas  of  Masses 
(63  Masses),  in  honour  of  the  Seven  Sorrows  and  Seven 
Joys  of  the  Glorious  Patriarch,  St.  Joseph,  will  begin  in 
the  Catholic  Church,  Easingwold,  on  loth  March,  and 
end  on  i8th  March.  St.  Theresa  tells  us  in  the  sixth 
chapter  of  her  life,  '  that  she  never  asked  anything  of 
him  (St.  Joseph)  either  for  body  or  soul  that  he  denied 
her.'  Here  is  now  our  opportunity  to  storm  heaven 
through  the  intercession  of  St.  Joseph.  Any  intention 
of  a  private  or  public  nature  for  spiritual  or  temporal 
favours  may  he  included  by  each  individual;  and 
if  sent  will  be  placed  at  the  feet  of  St.  Joseph's  statue 
during  the  Novenas.  The  names  of  any  particular 
persons  (living  or  dead)  whom  any  one  may  wish 
specially  prayed  for,  if  sent,  will  also  be  placed  at  the 
feet  of  his  statue.  In  return  a  small  donation,  no  matter 
how  small,  is  humbly  asked  to  help  this  little  country 
school  to  repair  God's  house,  and  other  work.  All  the 
petitions  sent  will  remain  at  the  feet  of  St.  Joseph's 
statue." 

There  are  curiosities  in  religion  no  less  than  in 
literature,  and  there  are  virtuosos  in  the  matter  of 
masses  and  indulgences  no  less  than  in  the  world  of 
pictures,  books,  china,  violins,  and  curios.  "  Urgent " 
is  an  Irish  virtuoso,  and  a  zelatrice  is  a  curiosity  of 
religion  in  Ireland,  thus :  "  Urgent  would  feel  obliged 
if  any  one  would  send  her  the  address  of  a  zelatrice  for 


A  ZELATRICE  201 

the  (Euvre  Expiatoire,  as  for  the  last  two  months  she  is 
anxious  to  have  a  Gregorian  mass  offered  for  the  Holy 
Souls ;  also  the  honorarium  necessary  for  getting  the 
Gregorian  masses  offered."  So  wrote  the  editor  of  The 
Irish  Catholic  on  20th  April  1901,  and  in  the  same 
column,  lower  down :  "  Crozier  Indulgence  (reply  to 
several  correspondents). — There  is  no  house  of  the 
Canons  of  the  Holy  Cross  in  these  countries.  We  shall 
endeavour  to  find  out  where  the  nearest  house  on  the 
Continent  is  situate,  and  publish  in  our  next  issue." 
But  there  was  not  wanting  a  good  Irishwoman,  a  disciple 
of  this  mass-buying  cult,  down  the  country,  who  was 
able  to  solve  the  intricate  problem ;  and,  with  amiable 
modesty,  the  editor  leaves  it  all  to  Mrs.  W.  and  other 
correspondents.  In  the  following  week's  issue  of  his 
paper,  we  find — 

"  (Euvre  Expiatoire  and  Crozier  Beads. — We  have 
received  the  following  letter :  '  Main  Street,  Glin, 
county  Limerick.  Sir, — I  enclose  the  required  address, 
and  shall  feel  thankful  if  the  person  who  receives  it 
shall  mention  from  whom  they  got  it  when  writing. 
Also  I  enclose  the  address  where  the  Crozier  Beads  can 
be  procured.  The  Canons  of  the  Holy  Cross  are  estab- 
lished at  the  under-mentioned  address,  but  the  beads 
can  be  got  through  the  medium  of  the  London  address, 
also  enclosed. — I  remain,  yours  truly, 

"'Mrs.  KM.  W.'" 

I  should  never  have  imagined  that  we  lacked,  in 
Ireland,  the  CEuvre  Expiatoire,  Canons  of  the  Holy 
Cross  and  Crozier  Beads ;  but  an  Irish  lady  is  able  to 
give  every  detail  of  information  required  about  their 
whereabouts,  and  a  public  address  of  a  zelatrice  is  also 
added :  "  A  correspondent  has  also  kindly  written  to 
inform  us  that  Miss  MacD.,  Adelaide  Road,  Dublin, 
is  a  zelatrice  for  the  CEuvre  Expiatoire."     I  had  no  idea 


202  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

there  was  a  zelatrice  in  the  neighbourhood  !  "  Another 
correspondent  informs  us  that  the  Crozier  Beads  can  be 
had  from  the  Rector,  Presbytery,  St.  David's,  24  Charles 
Street,  Cardiff,"  Then  comes  the  gist  of  the  matter : 
"  If  Urgent  sends  stamped  addressed  envelope  to  us 
we  will  forward  letter  received  from  a  Nottingham 
correspondent,  giving  all  particulars  as  to  Gregorian 
masses,  &c."  Why  could  not  this  difficult  and  recondite 
work  be  done  in  Ireland,  and  the  "  honorarium  "  kept 
at  home  ?  The  advantage  of  having  these  "  crozier 
beads  "  appears  to  be  that  you  can  get  the  indulgence 
attached  to  saying  the  rosary  without  saying  the  rosary 
at  all.  They  are,  therefore,  but  one  additional  incentive 
to  Irish  Catholics  to  shirk  duty  and  to  scamp  work; 
and  these  new-fangled  beads  will  do  their  share  in 
worm-eating  our  integrity  and  corrupting  our  national 
character.  The  indulgences  attached  to  crozier  beads 
are: — 

"(i)  The  Papal  Indulgences,  ten  in  number,  may  be 
acquired  for  oneself  or  applied  to  the  souls  in  purgatory. 
(2)  The  Bridgetine  Indulgences,  ten  in  number.  (3) 
The  Dominican  Indulgences,  four  in  number.  (4)  The 
Crozier  Indulgences,  or  an  indulgence  of  500  days  for 
every  Pater  and  Ave  said  on  the  beads.  To  gain  this 
indulgence  it  is  not  necessary  to  say  any  entire  Rosary, 
nor  even  a  decade  of  it.  An  indulgence  of  500  days  is 
gained  by  the  recital  of  Our  Father  or  Hail  Mary. 

"  Of  all  the  indulgences  attached  to  the  Rosary,  this 
indulgence  of  500  days  is  certainly  one  of  the  richest 
and  the  easiest  to  gain,  because  it  is  not  necessary 
either  to  meditate  on  the  Divine  mysteries  of  the 
Rosary,  nor  to  recite  all  the  Rosary,  not  even  an  entire 
decade.  A  single  Hail  Mary  said  amid  occupations,  on 
no  mcittcr  which  bead  of  these  Rosaries,  will  gain  this 
indulgence  of  500  days.  The  impossibility  which  one 
often  finds  of  reciting  the  entire  Rosary,  and  thus  gaining 
the  indulgence  of  the  Rosary,  or  of  Saint  Bridget,  should 


CROZIER   INDULGENCE  203 

make  this  indulgence  of  the  Crozier  Fathers  particularly 
dear  to  all  the  fait] if  id  wlio  are  desirous  of  gaining  a 
great  number  of  indulgences,  and  of  thus  assisting  the 
souls  in  purgatory." 

I  cannot  conceive  a  greater  abuse  of  religion,  a  baser 
kind  of  familiarity  with  God,  than  all  this  discloses  as 
existing  and  thriving  amongst  us.  What  a  frame  of 
mind  our  Irish  Catholic  womenfolk  are  getting  into  ? 
Take  "  Marie,"  for  instance :  "  Marie  Avants  to  know  if 
there  is  any  Society  or  Archconfraternity  of  St.  Michael 
Archangel,  and  where  established,  as  she  wants  to  join," 
As  if  there  were  not  confraternities  enough  and  to 
spare.     How  morbid  the  religious  appetite  grows ! 

We  now  come  to  the  master-gleaner,  or  rather  to 
him  whose  name  is  the  shibboleth  of  the  largest  crowd 
of  gleaners  from  the  lean  pockets  of  the  credulous  Irish 
Catholic  laity,  namely,  Saint  Anthony  of  Padua.  If 
you  miss  anything  in  your  house,  the  untidy  servant 
who,  probably,  has  mislaid  it,  will  tell  your  wife  to 
"  pray  to  St.  Anthony  for  it,  and  he'll  be  sure  to  tell 
you  where  it  is."  St.  Anthony  is  used  as  a  cover  for 
all  sorts  of  begging  appeals.  Cardinal  Logue  and  Arch- 
bishop Walsh  do  not  need  to  pray  to  St.  Anthony 
when  they  want  to  find  money ;  such  business  as  that 
is  left  to  the  smaller  fry  with  whom  we  are  now  dealing. 
Yet,  curious  to  say,  St.  Anthony's  followers  do  not  seem 
able  to  find  nearly  as  many  shillings  as  the  hierarchy 
can  discover  pounds !  Let  us  take  the  gentlest  of  the 
St.  Anthony  appeals,  piped  in  a  very  dulcet  insinuating 
key,  from  that  big  monastery,  which  is  supported  at 
Crawley  in  Sussex  by  the  Pope,  and  which  covers  acres 
of  merry  England's  ground,  and  is  as  much  out  of 
place  as  an  ichthyosaurus  would  be  in  a  cotton  mill. 

The  Crawley  monks  tell  the  Irish  Catholics  how  they 
stand  about  the  St.  Anthony  business : — 


204  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

"The  Guild  of  St.  Anthony  was  founded  in  1895  by 
the  Fathers  of  the  EngUsh  Franciscan  Capuchin  Pro- 
vince, with  the  approval  of  the  heads  of  the  province 
and  the  blessing  of  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Southwark  and 
of  his  Eminence  Cardinal  Vaughan.  Since  then  it  has 
been  solemnly  considered  at  Rome  by  the  Supreme 
Rulers  of  the  Order,  and  not  only  approved,  but  so 
assimilated  to  the  whole  Order  of  St.  Francis,  that 
all  members  of  the  Guild  become  actual  sharers  in 
the  prayers,  masses,  mortifications,  and  good  works  of 
all  Capuchin  Friars  Minor  throughout  the  world.  In 
1896  the  Holy  See,  by  documents,  the  originals  of 
which  are  in  Crawley  Monastery,  granted  divers  plenary 
and  partial  indulgences  to  all  members,  as  may  be 
seen  on  the  cards  of  membership.  Mass  is  said  every 
Tuesday  at  St.  Anthony's  Shrine  exclusively  for  members 
of  the  Guild.  A  special  mass  is  said  once  a  month  for 
promoters,  and  prayers  are  said  daily  by  the  community 
for  all  who  send  petitions  to  the  shrine." 

I  call  that  particular  appeal  mild  ;  it  adds,  "  Offerings 
sent  for  bread  are  given  to  the  real  poor."  They 
probably  find  it  hard  now  in  Sussex  to  get  "  real  poor  " 
— that  class  which,  we  were  told,  was  so  numerous  lefore 
the  suppression  of  the  monasteries  in  England ;  and  in 
whose  interests,  we  were  told,  the  monasteries  ought 
to  have  been  maintained;  but  who  happily  seem  to 
have  disappeared  from  England  along  with  the  monas- 
teries. I  wish  the  monasteries  and  the  poor  would 
disappear  from  Ireland ;  for  there  is  no  more  necessity, 
unhappily,  for  talking  of  "  real  poor  "  in  Ireland  than  of 
"  real  ice  "  in  Spitzbergen. 

"  Guild  medals  in  aluminium  at  3d.  and  in  silver  at 
2s.  each,  and  the  '  Manual  of  St.  Anthony,'  revised,  and 
with  the  addition  of  Epistles  and  Gospels,  350  pages. 
A  perfect  Prayer  Book,  cloth,  is.;  leatherette,  red  edges, 
2s.  net ;  postage  3d.,  can  be  had  on  application  to  the 


ANTHONY   OF  PADUA  205 

Guild  centre  at  Crawley.  Any  cheques  and  money 
orders  sent  should  be  made  jyayable  to  the  V.  Rev. 
Anselm  Kenealy,  The  Monastery,  Crawley,  Sussex." 

They  could  not  wind  up  Avithout  cheques.  This 
Crawley  Monastery  is  one  of  the  Pope's  ways  of  demon- 
strating that  he  has  not  yet  relinquished  his  hold  upon 
England.  How  would  English  workmen  and  work- 
women like  to  have  a  thousand  of  such  institutions 
dotted  over  the  face  of  their  country,  dominating  it, 
taking  precedence  of  all  industry,  living  in  idleness 
upon  the  sweat  of  the  people's  brows,  diverting  the 
thoughts  of  the  youth  from  upright  work  and  cheerful 
self-helpfulness  to  the  gloominess  and  despair  of  hell 
and  purgatory,  making  cowards  of  the  English  race  ? 
That  is  what  we  have  to  bear  in  Cathohc  Ireland  to-day, 
pace  the  Duke  of  Norfolk. 

Next  comes  a  St.  Anthony  appeal,  at  the  head  of 
which  is  a  picture :  Pope  Leo  XIII.  blesses  and  indul- 
gences the  Association  of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua.  The 
Crawley  monks  called  their  society  the  "  Guild  "  ;  while 
we  now  have  the  Nottingham  priests  begging  for  the 
"  Association "  of  St.  Anthony,  They  tell  the  Irish 
Catholics  that  they  have  got  "  St.  Anthony's  Altar 
Shrine  at  Nottingham,"  and  that  "  A  Novena  of  Masses 
in  honour  of  Our  Lady  of  the  Angels  and  of  St.  Anthony 
of  Padua,  the  great  miracle-worker,  will  begin  on  25  th 
July  and  end  on  2nd  August.  Those  who  wish  to  join 
should  send  their  written  petitions,  to  be  placed  at  the 
shrine,  at  once  to  the  Rev.  Director-General,  Father 
Ignatius  Beale,  T.O.S.F.,  St.  Anthony's  House,  Notting- 
ham, England."  Those  written  petitions  will  naturally 
put  the  owners  of  the  shrine  in  possession  of  much 
valuable  information.  The  object  of  the  Association 
is  "  to  maintain  and  increase  devotion  to  St.  Anthony 
at  his  Altar  Shrine  at  Nottingham,"  and  "  the  full  name 


2o6  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

and  address  of  every  associate  must  be  sent  to  the 
Director- General  for  enlistment  in  the  register  (say 
whether  Mr.,  Mrs.,  or  Miss)."  Those  names  and 
addresses,  in  conjunction  with  the  petition,  should 
prove  very  useful.  St.  Anthony  s  Brief,  St.  Anthony  s 
Manual,  and  St.  Anthony  s  Journal,  are  published  by 
this  Nottingham  community,  and  the  proprietors  can 
afford  a  whole  column  advertisement  in  a  special 
position. 

Next  we  find  the  announcement  "  St.  Anthony 
appeals  to  the  Poor."  The  Crawley  monks  said  that 
their  St.  Anthony  appeals  for  the  poor.  This  London 
St.  Anthony  does  the  reverse :  "  To  the  generous  Irish, 
St.  Anthony  is  making  an  appeal  for  help  for  a  poor 
mission  in  England,  with  ;!r20oo  debt.  May  he  touch 
their  hearts,  especially  the  hearts  of  the  Tertiaries,  to 
answer  the  appeal,  and  send  an  offering  to  the  Rev. 
Wm.  Thompson,  St.  Anthony  of  Padua,  Anerley,  S.E." 
One  should  be  inclined  to  suppose  from  this  that  it 
would  be  rather  hard  to  get  at  the  tertiaries,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thompson  ;  but  I  venture  to 
say,  notwithstanding,  that  more  nuggets  will  be  found 
in  the  tertiary  strata  of  Father  Thompson's  claim  than 
in  the  primary  or  secondary. 

So  far  for  the  gleaners  themselves ;  let  us  now 
analyse  the  gleanings  for  a  few  moments : — 

"The  Sisters  of  Mercy,  Gort,  co.  Galway,  gratefully 
acknowledge  the  following  donations  for  St.  Anthony's 
bread :  Lover  of  St.  Anthony,  6d. ;  Maggie,  6d. ;  M.  R., 
IS.  (intentions  prayed  for);  B.  M.,  6d.  in  thanksgiving; 
L.  A.  M.,  3d.  (requests  complied  with) ;  Mary,  2s.  6d.; 
M.  G.,  IS.  in  thanksgiving;  Ale,  2s.  in  thanksgiving; 
M.  W.,  Rothesay,  2s.  (intentions  prayed  for).  The 
prayers  of  the  poor,  the  children,  and  sisters  are  daily 
offered  for  kind  donors."     Ale  seems  a  curious  pseu- 


THE  GLEANINGS  207 

donym  to  adopt.  "  The  Sisters  of  Mercy,  Kinvara,  co. 
Galway,  gratefully  acknowledge  the  following  donations 
for  St.  Anthony's  bread :  An  Unhappy  Client  of  St. 
Anthony,  is. ;  M.  K.,  Ashton-on-Tyne,  6d. ;  Ignatius,  6d. ; 
Sydiate,  3s.;  One  Who  Trusts  in  St.  Anthony,  is.; 
K.  M.,  St.  Anthony's  Client,  2s.  6d.  Fervent  prayers 
are  daily  offered  by  the  sisters,  the  poor  and  the 
children  for  all  who  request  prayers."  "  The  Rev.  Fr. 
Donovan,  Kirtling,  Newmarket,  England,  begs  to 
acknowledge  with  grateful  thanks  the  receipt  of  the 
following  offerings  for  masses :  A.  H.,  7s.  6d. ;  A  Child 
of  Mary,  2s.  6d.  May  God  bless  and  reward  them." 
" '  Dolores '  gratefully  acknowledges  the  following  dona- 
tions for  an  altar  in  honour  of  the  Sacred  Heart  in 
a  poor  convent :  Received  per  IrisJi  Catholic,  One 
Who  Trusts  in  St.  Anthony,  6d. ;  D.  M.  (Naas),  is.; 
Helpless  Orphan,  is."  One  would  suppose  that  a  help- 
less orphan  could  find  better  use  for  a  shilling. 

"  The  Religious  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  1 8  Lower  Leeson 
Street,  Dublin,"  who  reside  in  what  used  to  be  the 
princely  town  house  of  Lord  Ardilaun,  "gratefully 
acknowledge  the  following  donations  for  St.  Anthony's 
bread :  A  Member  of  the  Sodality  of  the  Holy  Rosary, 
6d. ;  One  in  Trouble,  2s. ;  W.  D.,  3d. ;  A  Servant,  2s. ; 
Meath  (thanksgiving),  6d. ;  One  Who  Trusts  in  the 
Sacred  Heart,  pd. ;  One  in  Trouble,  2s. ;  A  Client  of  St. 
Anthony  (thanksgiving),  3d. ;  One  Who  Has  Obtained 
a  Reward,  5s.;  'Inistioge'  (thanksgiving),  2s.;  A 
Believer  in  Prayer  to  St.  Anthony,  3d. ;  M.  Bergin,  8d. ; 
A  Poor  Woman,  2d.;  S.  M'Donnell,  is.;  J.  M.,  is.; 
W.  D.,  3d."  "  The  Sisters  of  Mercy,  Lower  Baggot  Street, 
Dublin,  gratefully  acknowledge  the  following  donations 
for  St.  Anthony's  bread :  3d.  from  a  Westmeath  Lass, 
to  obtain  a  special  temporal  favour ;  2s.  from  Anony- 
mous, to  obtain  a  favour  wanted  from  St.  Anthony ; 
IS.  from  Anonymous;  2S.  from  S.  B.  in  fulfilment  of 
a  promise  to  St.  Anthony  for  requests  granted."  Poor 
Westmeath  lass !  "  The  Sisters  of  the  Presentation 
Convent,  Mount  St.  Joseph's,  Oranmore,  co.  Galway, 
return  most  grateful  thanks  for  the  following  donations 


208  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

towards  St.  Anthony's  bread:  per  Irish  Catholic,  is. 
M.  M.,  Meath;  K.,  6d.,  in  thanksgiving  for  a  favour, 
CO.  Kerry;  M.  T.  O'C,  is.  6d.,  to  obtain  a  much-needed 
favour  through  St.  Anthony's  intercession;  A  Poor 
Orphan,  is.,  to  obtain  a  much-needed  temporal  favour, 
Kilcock ;  Catherine,  2s.  6d.  (mass  has  been  oifered  for 
your  intentions) ;  6d.  for  St.  Anthony's  bread ;  Croome, 
IS.,  in  thanksgiving  for  a  temporal  favour.  Special 
prayers  are  daily  offered  by  the  sisters,  school  children, 
and  poor  for  all  the  intentions  requested  by  kind 
donors."  I  pity  that  poor  orphan  from  Kilcock 
sending  his  or  her  shilling  to  Oranmore  to  obtain 
a  much-needed  temporal  favour !  "  The  Sisters  of 
Mercy,  Arklow,  gratefully  acknowledge  the  receipt  of 
the  following  donations  for  St.  Anthony's  bread  for  the 
poor:  A  Client  of  St.  Anthony,  Rathdrum,  is.;  A 
Grateful  Client  of  St.  Anthony,  Waterford,  5s. ;  small 
sums  for  various  intentions,  is.  6d.  Special  prayers  are 
ottered  daily,  and  a  general  communion  once  every 
month  by  the  community  for  the  intentions  of  bene- 
factors, also  a  general  communion  for  deceased  bene- 
factors. A  lamp  is  kept  burning  before  a  statue  of  the 
saint,  and  the  prayers  of  the  poor  are  secured  for  the 
same  intention."  Note  the  use  of  the  word  "  secured." 
How  do  they  "  secure  "  the  prayers  of  the  poor  ?  "  The 
Sisters  of  Mercy,  Portlaw,  co.  Waterford,  return  most 
grateful  thanks  for  the  following  donations  for  St. 
Anthony's  bread :  Mrs.  Ramsey,  i  s. ;  Mary  A.  (Water- 
ford), 3d.;  Mrs.  Knight,  5s.;  J.  Gribbon,  is.;  S.  Craig, 
is.;  Mooncoin  Bakery,  bread,  is.;  Miss  Kennedy,  2s. ; 
E.  C.  H.,  in  thanksgiving  for  favours  received,  2S. ;  Mrs. 
Smyth,  4d.  The  holy  sacrifice  of  the  mass  will  be 
oifered  on  1 5  th  August  for  all  intentions  of  donors,  and  a 
novena  in  honour  of  Our  Lady's  Assumption  for  the  special 
intentions  recommended  to  the  prayers  of  the  sisters." 

The  Mooncoin  Bakery  was  quite  right  to  send  bread. 
If  every  other  client  of  St.  Anthony  did  the  same,  his 
cult  would  soon  disappear  from  the  advertising  columns 
of  the  religious  press  in  Ireland. 


IRISH   CREDULITY  209 

But  why  pursue  the  theme  ?  Miles  of  such  announce- 
ments could  be  compiled,  and,  insignificant  as  the  in- 
dividual sums  subscribed  may  appear,  the  sum  total, 
acknowledged  and,  above  all,  unacknowledged,  comes 
to  a  very  large  amount  of  money  in  the  year,  extorted 
from  a  struggling  people  under  representations  which 
make  one  blush  for  one's  fellow-religionists,  from  the 
Duke  of  Norfolk  and  Cardinal  Vaughan  down  to  the 
smallest  of  the  mendicants.  Would  that  they  were  all 
scourged  out  of  this,  our  little  emerald  temple,  Ireland, 
who  thus  prey  upon  the  credulity  of  such  poor  people 
as  the  following : — 

"  One  Who  Believes  in  St.  Anthony  publishes  thanks 
for  requests."  "  M.  M.  publishes,  according  to  promise, 
a  very  much-needed  favour  obtained  after  seeking  the 
intercession  of  St.  Anthony."  "  A  Client  of  Our  Lady  of 
Perpetual  Succour  publishes,  according  to  her  promise, 
the  obtaining  of  a  great  temporal  favour  for  a  loved 
brother.  Is  having  mass  offered  in  thanksgiving."  "  A 
lover  of  the  Holy  Souls  writes  to  suggest  that  a  box 
for  offerings  for  masses  for  the  souls  in  purgatory  be 
placed  in  some  conspicuous  place  at  meetings  of  the 
Children  of  Mary."  "  Unworthy  Client  (Fethard)  pub- 
lishes, according  to  promise,  thanks  to  the  Sacred 
Heart,  the  Blessed  Virgin,  St.  Joseph,  and  St,  Anthony 
for  favours  obtained."  "  A  lover  of  Jesus,  Mary,  and  St. 
Joseph  asks  readers  to  pray  for  certain  intentions,  and 
promises  to  pray  for  them  in  return."  "  A  Client  of  the 
Sacred  Heart  asks  readers  to  say  one  Hail  Mary  in 
thanksgiving  for  a  favour  received." 

What  can  be  the  mental  calibre  of  the  individuals 
who  address  the  following  appeal  to  such  credulous 
people  as  the  inserters  of  the  above  announcements : — 

"Contributions  are  earnestly  solicited,  and  will  be 
received  by  the  Editor  of  the  Irish  Catholic,  to  erect 
an  Altar  in  honour  of  the  Sacred  Heart  in  a  Poor  Con- 

o 


210  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

vent.  A  novena  of  Masses  will  be  offered  for  all  who 
contribute,  and  their  names  will  be  placed  in  the  altar, 
Novenas  in  honour  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  Our  Lady  of 
Dolours,  St.  Joseph,  and  St.  Anthony  will  also  be  offered 
for  their  intentions.  Do  not  refuse  to  send  even  a  small 
offering  for  love  of  the  Sacred  Heart." 

I  could  not  have  believed  that  such  sordid,  persistent, 
petty  money-grubbing  existed  in  the  British  Isles.  One 
feels  appalled  by  it ;  and  our  young  people  fly  across 
the  Atlantic  from  shame  of  it. 

"  The  Sisters  of  Charity,  Mount  St.  Anne's,  Milltown, 
county  Dublin,  gratefully  acknowledge  receipt  of  the 
following  for  St.  Anthony's  bread :  One  who  trusts  in 
St.  Anthony,  is.;  M.  J.  Paisley,  6d. ;  A  Long  Sufferer, 
IS.  6d. ;  A  Troubled  Parent,  is.;  Anon.,  6d.  The  in- 
tentions shall  receive  a  share  in  their  prayers.  The 
Sisters  place  the  names  of  those  who  thus  aid  the  poor 
in  the  intention-box  under  the  Statue  of  St.  Anthony, 
and  they  are  daily  prayed  for  by  the  poor  and  com- 
munity. Special  prayers  are  offered  up  every  evening 
in  presence  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  in  honour  of  St. 
Anthony,  for  those  who  subscribe." 

One  could  fill  ten  times  as  many  pages  as  the  works  of 
Shakespeare  occupy  with  such  extracts.  Those  which 
I  have  given  are  not  selected,  they  are  all  taken  from 
one  number  of  The  Irish  Catholic,  before  alluded  to, 
dated  2 7th  July  1 90 1 ,  chosen  haphazard.  It  is  a  weekly 
penny  newspaper  containing  eight  pages,  as  largo  as  The 
Standard  or  Daily  News,  and  published  in  Dublin  in 
the  office  where  the  famous  and  cultured  Nation  had 
to  be  discontinued.  And  my  extracts  are  only  a 
portion  of  what  that  single  number  contains  ! 

What  is  Mr.  Hooley's  opinion  of  the  following  ?  Did 
it  ever  occur  to  him  to  try  St.  Anthony  with  any  of 
his    prospectuses  ?     "  Promoter  returns  thanks  to  St. 


SAINTS   VALUE   ADVERTISEMENTS      211 

Anthony  of  Padiia  for  temporal  favours,  and  asks 
readers  to  join  in  thanksgiving."  St.  Anthony  is  kept 
up  to  date ;  for  we  are  at  liberty  to  infer  that  he  is 
making  a  bid  even  for  the  support  of  company  pro- 
moters ?  And  now  a  few  other  extracts  from  the  next 
following  number  of  the  Irish  Catholic,  to  show  how 
the  trade  goes  on  steadily  week  by  week : — 

"A  penitent  publishes,  in  fulfilment  of  promise,  thanks 
to  Blessed  Gerard  for  graces  received  regarding  con- 
fession." "  Delia  jniblisJies,  according  to  promise,  a  cure 
from  a  very  severe  disease,  after  praying  to  Our  Lady 
of  Dolours,  St.  Anthony,  and  Blessed  Peter  Alcantara." 
"  Unworthy  Client  publishes,  according  to  promise, 
thanks  to  Blessed  Gerard  for  temporal  favour  for  a 
brother."  "  Client  of  Holy  Family  publishes  thanks, 
according  to  promise,  to  Blessed  Gerard  for  temporal 
favour  for  a  brother."  "  Client  of  Holy  family  publishes 
thanks,  according  to  promise,  to  Blessed  Gerard  for  help 
received  regarding  confession."  "  Corkonian,  according 
to  promise,  publishes  thanks  to  our  Blessed  Lady  of 
Campocavallo,  St.  Anthony,  and  St.  Philomena  for  a 
cure."  "  One  in  Great  Ditiiculties  wishes  to  make  knoAvn 
having  received  favours  through  Blessed  Gerard  Majella, 
after  making  novcna,  and  jjroniising  to  publicly  acknow- 
ledge if  granted.  She  begs  all  who  read  this  to  say 
three  Hail  Marys  in  his  honour."  "  The  Sisters  of  Charity, 
Stella  Maris,  Howth,  co.  Dublin,  gratefully  acknowledge 
the  receipt  of  the  following  donations  for  St.  Anthony's 
bread  for  the  poor :  2s.  in  honour  of  Jesus,  Mary,  and 
Joseph,  from  A  Child  of  Carmel ;  6d.  from  an  Anxious 
Mother  for  the  conversion  of  a  wild  son,  One  who  trusts 
in  St.  Anthony;  2s.  in  honour  of  Jesus,  Mary,  and 
Joseph,  thanksgiving  and  asking  prayers  for  the  re- 
covery of  a  Mother,  Ballybay,  co.  Monaghan ;  2s.,  ask- 
ing the  prayers  of  the  Community  for  a  particular 
intention,  co.  Limerick  ;  is.  for  a  very  special  intention  ; 
3d.  from  Katie  H. ;  6d.  from  A  Child  of  Mary ;  6d.  from 
Mary ;    sd.  from  Hopeful ;    5d.  from  J.  L.     Stella  Maris 


212  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

is  a  branch  of  St.  Anthony's  Association.  Three  hun- 
dred and  sixty- five  Masses  are  offered  yearly  at  the 
tomb  of  St.  Anthony,  Padua,  for  the  members." 

We  cannot  better  part  company  with  St.  Anthony  of 
Padua,  than  by  quoting  an  extract  from  St.  Anthony's 
Messenger : — 

"  Among  the  glorious  virtues  of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua 
his  virginal  purity  holds  a  foremost  place.  That  is  the 
reason  why  he  is  usually  represented  with  a  lily  in  his 
hand ;  it  was  this  particular  virtue,  too,  which  won  for 
him  the  caresses  of  the  Holy  Child.  Yet,  like  every 
other  child  of  Adam,  he  had  to  fight  and  pray  to  defend 
it  and  preserve  it  inviolate.  His  first  care  was  to  place 
it  under  the  protection  of  the  Immaculate  Mother 
Mary.  To  induce  us  to  adopt  this  practice  of  St. 
Anthony,  which,  by  the  way,  he  himself  recommended 
to  others  as  a  means  of  preserving  their  purity  un- 
sullied, the  Holy  Father  has  enriched  it  by  the  grant 
of  an  indulgence  of  lOO  days,  to  be  gained  once  a  day. 
This  favour  was  accorded  on  20th  May  1893.  It.  is 
important  to  note  that  the  indulgence  is  attached  to 
the  practice  itself  of  St.  Anthony,  consequently,  in  order 
to  gain  the  indulgence  the  '  Hail  Mary '  must  be  pre- 
ceded by  the  invocations  which  are  as  follows:  (i) 
Virgin  before  the  birth,  pray  for  us.  Hail  Mary,  &c. 
(2)  Virgin  at  the  moment  of  the  birth,  pray  for  us  !  Hail 
Mary,  &c.  (3)  Virgin  after  the  birth,  pray  for  us. 
Hail  Mary,  &c." 

I  do  not  know  how  that  style  of  prayer  coming  from 
the  lips  of  a  man  will  strike  Protestants ;  but,  to  me, 
a  Catholic  and  an  ordinary  man  of  the  world,  and  a 
married  man  who  is  the  father  of  children,  it  sounds 
revolting,  to  thus  picture  a  young  mother  at  such  a 
crucial  moment  of  her  existence  ;  and,  above  all,  the 
mother  of  Christ  the  Redeemer ;  and  for  such  a 
purpose. 

I  have  mentioned   company-promoting  in  connec- 


PROMOTERS  WANTED  213 

tion  with  the  St,  Anthony  traffic.  It  really  would  not 
surprise  me  to  hear  of  a  "  St.  Anthony,  Limited,"  being 
floated  off  upon  a  substantial  capital  by  some  enter- 
prising Order,  under  Papal  Indulgence.  For  I  find  two 
whole  column  advertisements,  issued  by  the  Notting- 
ham house  before  referred  to ;  one  column  of  which 
is  entirely  devoted  to  the  announcement :  "  Promoters 
wanted  for  the  Association  of  St.  Anthony."  And  the 
appeal  for  '•  promoters  "  is  based  upon  a  lengthy  state- 
ment, headed  "  Papal  Approbation  and  Origin  of  the 
Brief  of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua,"  and  signed  "  Fr.  Louis 
Laner,  Minister-General  of  the  Friars  Minor,  Rome, 
Convent  of  St.  Anthony,  9th  Feb.  1 900."  ^ 

And  let  us  close  this  summary,  this  mere  sample  of  the 
trade,  with  a  begging  appeal  from  England  to  Ireland  : — 

"  Help  !  Help  !  Help !  For  the  love  of  God,  help 
us.  Our  old  Mission,  established  in  1446,  has  been 
destroyed  two  years  ago.  Help  to  found  a  new  one. 
Contributions  to  the  Building  Fund  thankfully  received 
by  Right  Rev.  A.  Riddcll,  Bishop  of  Northampton,  or 
Rev.  Maurice  Carton,  Olney,  Bucks,  England." 

Those  who  have  read  this  chapter  will,  perhaps, 
understand  what  the  point  of  view  is,  from  which  the 
mystified,  stay-at-home  Irish  Catholics  regard  their 
fellow-citizens  of  Great  Britain.  Is  it  any  wonder  that 
they  sneer  at  the  sentiment  of  Thomson's  poem,  as  the 
mere  raving  of  a  nation  Avhicli  is  foredoomed  to  hell  ? 

"  When  P>ritaiii  first  at  Heaven's  command 

Arose  from  out  the  azure  main, 
This  was  the  cliarter  of  her  land, 

And  guardian  angels  sung  the  strain  : 
Rule  Britannia  !  Britannia  rules  tlie  waves  ! 
Britons  never  shall  he  slaves." 


^  Irish  Catholic,  April  20,  1901. 


214  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

Englishmen  may  gather  from  the  foregoing  facts  how- 
little  the  perplexed  Catholic  Irish  know  of  such  a  senti- 
ment as  that,  coming  from  a  land  where  the  priests 
would  starve  but  for  the  support  of  the  faithful  Irish. 

Lest  any  of  my  readers  should  make  the  mistake 
of  supposing  that  I  look  upon  the  events  thus  briefly 
sketched,  as  being  in  the  faintest  degree  humorous,  let 
me  assure  the  reader  that  such  is  far  from  being  the 
case.  If  ridicule  could  kill  practices  so  hurtful  to  our 
national  character,  and  if  I  possessed  the  gift  either  of 
humour  or  sarcasm,  I  should  not  hesitate  to  use  that 
gift  with  deadly  intent ;  but,  beyond  the  earnest  Avish 
to  end  the  disastrous  traffic,  I  have  no  feeling  but  one 
of  heartfelt  sorrow  at  its  existence. 

Those  practices  constitute  the  "  heritage  of  the  faith  " 
upon  which  our  bishops  and  priests  so  flatter  us.  To 
my  mind  such  devotions  do  not  bear  witness  to  faith 
in  God,  but  rather  to  distrust  of  God,  The  Christians 
of  the  Reformed  Churches  believe  that  the  death  of 
Christ  purchased  salvation  for  all  mankind  who  accept 
the  gift.  They  prove  their  faith  by  accepting  that 
assurance  of  salvation.  Emboldened  by  that  faith, 
and  with  minds  at  ease,  they  go  forward  to  grapple 
courageously  and  triumphantly  with  the  problems  of 
life.     That  is  faith. 

But  we  have  no  faith.  Our  piety  is  an  elaborate 
series  of  subterfuges  by  which  we  attempt  to  escape 
the  duty  of  good  conduct  in  life,  and  ultimately  hope 
to  deceive  the  Divine  Omniscience.  That  is  self-decep- 
tion, and  it  leads  to  failure  and  ruin. 


Rrichf,  Dublin. 


A  Pastor  and  his  Flock 


'It  is  not  the  Arm  of  Salvatti,  from  Venice  .  .  .  It  is  ratlier  some  strong, 
sensible  man,  Ac."  (p.  218). 


CHAPTER  XII 
IN  CONN  AUGHT  {continued) 

Let  us  return  for  a  little  while  to  Connaught,  for  it 
is  the  most  unhappy  province  in  Ireland.  The  vast 
proportions  of  the  annual  migration  of  harvesters  to 
England  may  be  gathered  from  Sir  Ralph  Cusack, 
chairman  of  the  Midland  Great  Western  Railway. 
Speaking  in  January   1902,  he  said: — - 

"Of  harvest  men  we  carried  1994  less  than  in  the 
corresponding  half  year,  losing  ^^157.  I  believe  that 
a  great  number  of  harvest  men  that  went  to  England 
last  year  remained  there  and  got  employment,  tilling 
the  vacancies  made  by  a  number  of  persons  who  w'ent 
to  the  war.  Six  hundred  Irishmen  that  went  over  last 
year  are  now  employed  in  the  city  of  Liverpool," 

What  an  alarming  prospect  for  Bishop  Clancy ;  but 
what  a  blessed  relief  to  those  600  men  to  have  got  out 
of  the  Connaught  pandemonium  for  good  !  Vast  num- 
bers of  harvest  men  go  to  England  by  steamer  from 
Westport,  Sligo,  and  Galway,  in  addition  to  those  who 
travel  by  train.  In  1 90 1 ,  15,318  people  migrated  thus 
from  the  province  of  Cod  naught  to  Great  Britain.  But 
apart  from  these,  the  number  of  emigrants  who  left 
Connaught  permanently  in  1900  was  14,060,  the  figure 
having  been  constantly  increasing  for  six  years  from 
8438,  at  which  it  stood  in  1894,  to  14,060  in  1900. 
Would  that  an  equal  proportion  of  the  bishops,  mon- 
signors,  canons,  priests,  and  nuns  had  also  disappeared 
from  the  province.     But  while  the  best  of  the  laity  go 


2i6  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

on  emigrating,  the  clergy,  male  and  female,  continue  to 
increase.  In  fact  Connaught  is  like  a  "  shrunk  shank," 
for  which  its  clerical  hose  has  grown  "  a  world  too  wide." 
But  Archbishop  MacEvilly  and  his  five  colleagues  have 
no  idea  of  retrenchment  in  the  presence  of  such  facts. 
To  quote  one  proof  of  this,  out  of  many,  we  find 

"  the  beautiful  memorial  church  to  the  late  Most  Rev. 
Dr.  Gillooly,  Bishop  of  Elphin,  after  four  years  of 
building  operations,  now  rapidly  approaching  com- 
pletion." It  is  cold  comfort  for  the  poor  families  of 
Connaught,  who  cannot  afibrd  to  build  an  outhouse  for 
their  pigs,  to  learn  that  "  in  point  of  architectural  beauty 
it  will  be  a  splendid  addition  to  the  many  fine  church 
buildings  erected  throughout  Ireland  during  the  past 
twenty  years."  A  consideration  of  the  heroic  labours 
of  Monsignor  M'Loughlin  will  appeal  to  them :  "  The 
undertaking,  having  regard  to  the  many  calls  of  the 
people  of  the  diocese,  was  a  heavy  responsibility,  but 
the  Right  Rev.  Monsignor  M'Loughlin  faced  it,  en- 
couraged by  the  spirit  of  his  people."  The  beauty  of 
the  new  structure  must  suffice  to  console  the  suffering 
peasantry  :  "  The  clerestory  window  and  the  window  over 
the  organ  gallery  illustrate  pictorially  a  new  litany  of 
the  Sacred  Heart,  approved  of  by  the  Holy  See.  They 
are  marvellously  beautiful  and  finished."  ^ 

Gaelic  revivalists  will  be  cheered  by  the  announce- 
ment that  the  "  inscriptions  at  the  foot  of  each  window 
are  in  Irish."  And  the  beauty  of  this  new  church  is 
thus  gloated  upon,  at  a  time  when  their  better  judg- 
ment should  have  induced  its  erectors  to  hide  their 
diminished  heads : — 

"  The  window  of  St.  Joseph's  Chapel  is  an  excellent 
piece  of  work.  It  represents  the  death  of  St.  Joseph. 
The  glass  is  antique,  and  is  known  technically  as  pot 
metal,  bright  in  colour  and  elaborately  painted.  This 
will  be  used  as  the  Mortuary  Chapel,  hence  the  selection 

'  Prteman's  Journal,  January  31,  1902. 


EXPENSIVE   CHURCH   BUILDING        217 

of  the  subject.  Balancing  this,  on  the  other  side  of  the 
chancel,  is  the  Lady  Chapel,  the  subject  represented  on 
the  window  being  '  The  Espousals,'  the  high  priest  in  the 
centre,  the  Virgin  Mary  on  the  right,  and  St.  Joseph  with 
his  flowering  rod  on  the  left.  There  are  eleven  windows 
in  the  chancel,  the  work  of  different  artists.  The  centre 
one  is  a  memorial  window  to  the  late  Dr.  Harrison,  Ros- 
common, and  represents  the  apparition  of  the  Sacred 
Heart  to  the  blessed  Margaret  Mary  Alacoque."  The 
vision  of  the  blessed  Margaret  Mary  referred  to  forms 
one  of  the  illustrations  in  this  volume.  "  The  windows  of 
the  aisle — eight  in  number — are  illustrated  with  scenes 
from  the  life  of  Our  Lord.  The  rose  windows  of  the 
transept  are  of  very  elaborate  tracery,  the  epistle  side 
representing  emblems  of  the  Passion,  and  the  Gospel 
side  the  heavenly  hierarchy." 

It  would,  in  fact,  be  impossible  to  find  a  more  up-to- 
date  building  than  this  new  and  totally  unnecessary 
Catholic  church  in  county  Roscommon — a  district 
which  already  has  more  than  a  sufficient  supply  of 
such  buildings.  For  instance,  how  modern  it  will  be 
in  its  illumination  : — 

"The  lighting  of  the  church  will  be  by  electricity. 
Provision  is  made  for  50  incandescent  lamps  in  the 
nave,  24  in  the  chancel,  besides  100  five-candle-power 
lamps  for  decorative  purposes,  and  large  six-light  pen- 
dants in  the  transepts  and  side  chapels.  The  approach 
to  the  church  will  be  lighted  by  two  arc  lamps  of  1000 
candle-power  each.  Similar  lighting  is  made  provision 
for  in  the  proposed  new  presbytery,  within  the  church 
grounds."  And  we  can  only  listen  in  stupefied  wonder 
to  the  following  and  final  description  of  the  beauties  of 
this  edifice :  "  The  firm  of  Salvatti,  Venice,  have  orders 
to  supply  figures  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,  life  size,  in 
mosaics,  to  be  placed  under  the  arches  over  the  tran- 
septs, and  the  timpana  of  the  four  doors  are  being 
executed  in  similar  material.  This  was  decided  upon 
not  only  to  beautify  the  church,  but  as  well  to  educate 


2i8  PRIESTS   AND  PEOPLE 

the  growing  generation  to  a  knowledge  of  the  grand  art 
of  mosaic.  The  selection  and  arrangement  of  all  the 
subjects  were  the  outcome  of  the  fertile  and  cultured 
mind  of  the  Right  Rev.  Monsignor  M'Loiighlin,  who 
had  all  the  time  in  view  the  elevating  and  chastening 
of  the  people  in  regard  to  art." 

A  "  decent  church,"  to  use  Goldsmith's  term,  should 
be  in  keeping  with  the  means  of  the  congregation. 
What  a  biting  satire,  therefore,  is  this  picture  of 
"  the  fertile  and  cultured  mind  of  the  Right  Rev. 
Monsignor  M'Loughlin,  who  had  all  the  time  in  view 
the  elevating  and  chastening  of  the  tastes  of  the  people 
in  regard  to  art  "  !  As  if  the  poor  Catholic  peasants  of 
Connaught,  who  lack  the  most  elementary  provisions 
for  a  healthy,  or  even  decent,  bodily  existence — to  say 
nothing  of  their  state  of  mental  starvation  —  could 
possibly  derive  any  benefit  from  the  achievements  of 
this  Roscommon  priest-architect !  It  is  not  the  firm  of 
Salvatti,  from  Venice,  who  are  required  in  Connaught. 
It  is  rather  some  strong,  sensible  man,  who  might  infuse 
courage  and  knoAvledge  into  the  stupefied  inhabitants  of 
the  province,  and  exhibit  before  them,  in  their  true 
colours,  the  unpatriotic,  selfish,  nay,  inhuman  conduct 
of  our  Connaught  brigade  of  archbishop,  bishops, 
monsignors,  vicar-generals,  vicar-foranes,  archdeacons, 
canons,  rectors  of  communities,  priors,  parish  priests, 
curates  and  doctors  of  divinity,  who  prey  upon  the 
vitals  of  the  struggling  laity  of  this  decaying  province. 

Were  the  Redeemer  of  the  world  to  appear  again  in 
the  flesh  and  to  visit  Roscommon — after  a  journey 
through  Connaught — and  to  find  this  expensive  new 
church  erected  by  Monsignor  M'Loughlin  in  His 
name,  when  the  bodily  and  mental  condition  of  the 
people  remains  so  unhappy,  I  verily  believe  that  He 
would  scourge  the  monsignor  out  of  that  church  into 


THE  CASTLEBAR  CHURCH  219 

the  Shannon — as  He  drove  the  money-changers  of  old 
from  the  temple  in  Jerusalem  !  And  it  is  not  the  swine 
of  Connaiight  that  He  would  cause  to  throw  themselves 
over  the  cliffs  of  Connemara  into  the  depths  of  Lough 
Corrib,  but  the  bulk  of  the  Connaught  clerical  army, 
who  so  audaciously  trade  upon  His  name  and  twist  His 
divine  teaching — which  is  so  simple,  yet  which  not  only 
redeems  but  elevates  man  to  be  a  very  God  on  earth — 
into  an  engine  for  the  destruction  and  degradation  of 
His  poor  people.  My  blood  tingles  when  I  dwell  upon 
this  church-building  and  think  of  the  unhappiness  of  our 
people,  for  whom  so  much  good  might  be  done  if  our 
priests  even  remotely  imitated  Christ's  life  on  earth ! 

Almost  at  the  same  moment  there  are,  at  least,  a 
score  of  expensive  new  churches  being  built  in  Con- 
naught.  Indeed  there  is  a  constant  display,  a  continu- 
ous round  of  ecclesiastical  ceremonial  and  expenditure 
always  going  on,  which — viewed  in  conjunction  with 
the  sorry  display  of  municipal  mismanagement  and 
incapacity  found  in  the  public  boards  and  the  termagant- 
like  virulence  of  the  local  politicians — constitutes  a 
spectacle,  the  like  of  which  I  believe  is  not  to  be  wit- 
nessed in  any  civilised  country  at  present.  At  Castle- 
bar,  for  instance,  we  are  informed  that  "  our  esteemed 
pastor,  the  Rev.  Patrick  Lyons,  P.P.,  announced  that  the 
dedication  of  our  magnificent  new  church  would  take 
place  on  6th  October."  ^    We  are  further  informed  that 

"neither  time,  pains,  nor  money  has  been  spared  to 
make  the  church  an  ideal  one.  .  .  .  The  magnihcence  of 
the  high  altar,  presented  by  the  Most  Rev.  Dr.  Ludden, 
of  Syracuse,  U.S.A.,  himself  a  Castlebar  man,  could  not 
be  excelled.  The  handsome  bay  window,  the  gift  of  the 
most  Rev.  Dr.  MacEvilly,  Archbishop  of  Tuam,  repre- 
senting the  fifteen  mysteries,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  is 
perfection.     The  Stations  of  the  Cross  are  almost  life 

^  Evening  Telegraph,  June  7,  1901. 


220  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

size ;  they  were  painted  by  one  of  the  leading  painters 
in  Italy.  .  .  .  The  people  of  Castlebar  are  high  in  their 
praise  of  their  worthy  and  zealous  parish  priest,  who 
undertook  this  arduous  but  noble  work  three  years  ago, 
and  which  will  stand  as  a  monument  to  his  memory 
when  generations  have  passed  away." 

If  those  Connaught  new  churches  were  even  built  of 
native  material,  procured,  manufactured,  and  put  up  in 
Connaught,  one  would  not  feel  so  indignant  with  our 
priests.  If  the  "  fertile  and  cultured "  minds  of  the 
Connaught  monsignors  only  educated  the  local  artisans 
and  labourers  into  buildinsf  a  church,  though  it  were 
not  required,  one  could  have  respect  for  them  ;  for  if 
the  poor  people  once  learned  how  to  do  skilled  work 
of  any  kind,  they  might  go  on  to  turn  the  skill  thus 
acquired  to  more  practical  purposes  afterwards.  But 
we  find  the  monsignors,  while  they  bay  as  loud  as  blood- 
hounds about  the  duty  of  supporting  Irish  manufacture, 
when  they  are  on  the  scent  of  money,  invariably  going 
to  Italy  and  other  continental  countries  for  the  most 
expensive  materials  used  in  beautifying  their  churches. 

And  again,  at  the  same  moment,  near  Clifden,  the  new 
church  of  St.  James,  at  Cashel,  in  the  county  of  Galway, 
"  was  solemnly  dedicated  to  the  sacred  purposes  for 
which  it  was  erected,  by  the  Most  Rev.  Dr.  MacEvilly, 
Archbishop  of  Tuam,  the  sermon  on  the  occasion  being 
preached  by  the  Most  Rev.  Dr.  M'Cormack,  Bishop  of 
Galway.  The  text  he  selected  was  '  How  lovely  are  Thy 
Tabernacles,  0  Lord  of  Hosts  ! '  "  And  he  told  the  poor 
people  of  Connemara  that  "  what  King  David  longed 
for,  the  Catholic  Church  now  enjoyed.  He  longed  for 
God's  presence  in  the  tabernacle,  and  now  on  this  altar 
every  time  the  holy  mass  was  celebrated  they  had  our 
Lord  present  truly,  really  and  substantially."^     Lord 

'  Freeman's  Journal,  August  12,  1901. 


JURY  PACKING  221 

Gormanstown  was  present  on  the  occasion,  and  the  rest 
of  the  audience  was  made  up  of  poor  peasants  from  the 
Connemara  hillsides. 

"  0  soft-faced  hills  !  O  brown-topped  liills  ! 
Brave  hills  of  Connemara  !  "  ^ 

What  can  they  conclude  from  such  a  statement  on 
such  an  occasion,  but  that  without  this  newly-erected 
church,  and  without  the  ministry  of  the  archbishop 
and  bishop  and  priest,  they  could  not  have  God  in 
their  midst  ?  Oh,  it  is  dreadful  to  play  thus  upon 
the  emotions  of  a  poor  people,  invoking  the  name  of 
God,  and  pretending  to  a  familiarity  with  the  Creator, 
when  the  result  is  the  aoforrandisement  of  a  class  and 
the  degradation  of  a  body-politic  to  the  position  of 
cowards  and  serfs !  Give  me  a  heartfelt  prayer  on  the 
rocky  hillside  amidst  the  furze  and  fern,  under  the  blue 
vault  of  God's  sky,  in  preference  to  the  best  rehearsed 
and  most  intricate  archiepiscopal  rites,  under  that 
painted  roof,  at  which  the  peasant  can  only  look  on 
in  stupefaction ! 

Sir  Thomas  Overbury  says  "  the  man  of  noble  spirit 
converts  all  occurrences  into  experience,  between  which 
experience  and  his  reason  there  is  marriage,  and  the 
issue  are  his  actions,"  The  inhabitants  of  Connaught 
exemplify  how  little  of  "  noble  spirit "  there  is  amongst 
them,  inasmuch  as  they  never  seem  to  apply  their 
reason  to  their  experience  and  to  mould  their  actions 
accordingly.  When  Mr.  P.  A.  M'Hugh,  M.P.,  proprietor 
of  the  principal  newspaper  in  Sligo,  and  several  times 
mayor  of  that  town,  was  sentenced  in  April  1901  to  six 
months'  imprisonment  in  Kilmainham  Jail,  for  "  his 
manly  and  outspoken  protest  against  the  infamous 
system  of  jury-packing,"  it  must  have  been  a  serious 

^  J.  K.  Casey,  a  clever  young  Mullingar  poet,  born  1846,  died  1870, 
having  been  imprisoned  as  a  Fenian. 


222  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

loss  to  him — at  least,  it  would  have  been  a  serious  loss 
to  any  ordinary  person,  living  by  his  own  exertions  in 
any  ordinary  part  of  the  world.  I  do  not  express  any 
approval  whatever  of  the  imprisonment  of  Mr.  M'Hugh  ; 
for  I  do  not  believe  that  any  good  result  ever  follows 
from  preventing  the  free  expression  of  people's  thoughts 
upon  any  public  act  with  which  they  are  concerned. 
But  let  us  observe  how  Mr.  M'Hugh  acts  when  he 
issues  from  prison.^  On  his  release,  he  is  met  outside 
the  prison  gate  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning  by 
the  Lord  Mayor  of  Dublin,  and  a  hxrge  deputation  of 
sympathisers,  both  from  Dublin  and  Sligo,  and  he 
drives  off  from  the  prison  in  the  lord  mayor's 
carriage  followed  by  a  procession  of  outside  cars. 
He  is  presented  with  numerous  addresses  at  the 
United  Irish  League,  and  he  is  reported  as  thus 
addressing  his  friends :  "  The  Lord  Chief  Justice " 
— one  of  our  Irish  Roman  Catholic  judges — "  when 
sentencing  me  six  months  ago,  said  that  he  hoped 
that  the  sentence  would  not  only  be  a  punishment, 
but  a  deterrent.  I  desire  to  tell  his  lordship  that  for 
me  the  sentence  was  no  punishment,  and  no  deterrent. 
I  am  better  in  health  than  the  day  I  was  sentenced, 
and  I  am  more  determined  than  ever  to  carry  on  the 
fight  against  jury-packing." 

Jury-packing  means,  as  far  as  I  can  see,  the  exer- 
cising by  the  Crown  of  its  right  to  order  a  given 
number  of  jurors  to  "  stand  by,"  i.e.  not  to  take  part 
in  the  trial,  when  the  Crown  is  of  opinion  that  such 
jurors  sympathise  with  the  accused,  and  will  not  be 
likely  to  hold  the  scales  of  justice  evenly.  In  Con- 
naught,  tliis  alleged  practice  of  the  Crown  has  now 
been  manufactured  into  a  religious  grievance  ex- 
clusively.    And   the   complaint  is,  that  in  this  over- 

^  Dublin  Evening  Tehgiaph,  October  21,  1901. 


ARCHBISHOP   WALSH  223 

bishoped,  over-priested,  over-nunned  province,  with  its 
population  of  622,667  Catholics  as  against  26,968  mem- 
bers of  the  reformed  churches  of  all  denominations, 
the  Crown  orders  Catholic  jurors  to  "  stand  by,"  when 
criminal-political  charges  against  Catholics  are  being 
tried.  Mr,  M'Hugh  says,  "  The  Avinter  assizes  have 
been  turned  into  shambles,  with  Nationalists  as  victims 
and  packed  juries  as  butchers,"  .  .  .  and  he  assures  us 
that  ''■  the  Most  Rev.  Dr.  Gillooly,  late  Bishop  of  Elphin, 
drafted  a  protest  against  the  jury-packing.  It  was 
signed  by  his  lordship  himself,  as  well  as  by  the  Most 
Rev.  Dr.  M'Cormack,  then  Bishop  of  Achonry,  the  Most 
Rev.  Dr.  Conway,  late  Bishop  of  Killala,  and  all  the 
clergy  of  Sligo,  town  and  county.  .  .  .  They  all  agree 
in  thinking  that  jury-packing  is  an  insult  to  their 
religion,"  The  Crown,  far  as  it  has  gone  in  conferring 
temporal  power  on  the  priests,  is  not  yet  prepared  to 
hand  over  the  legal  administration  of  the  province  to 
the  archbishop,  bishops,  monsignors,  and  vicar-generals. 
The  deep  interest  taken  in  Mr.  M'Hugh  by  the  priests 
is  now  evidenced  by  a  letter  from  the  Archbishop  of 
Dublin,  which  is  read  at  the  public  luncheon  at  which 
Mr,  M'Hugh  is  entertained  at  the  Gresham  Hotel. 
Having  apologised  for  his  absence,  Archbishop  Walsh 
goes  on  to  say :  — 

"  I  am,  of  course,  in  the  fullest  accord  with  the  pro- 
test, emphatic  as  it  may  be,  to  which  expression  will  be 
given  on  Monday,  against  the  scandal  of  jury-packing. 
The  protest  against  this  horrid  scandal  is  one  that,  as 
far  as  my  memory  goes  back,  has  had  to  be  kept  up 
almost  incessantly  in  Ireland.  It  is,  and  I  fear  it  must 
long  continue  to  be,  one  of  our  standing  protests  against 
the  abuses  of  power  in  this  country.  Let  me,  how- 
ever, also  say  that  /  have  long  since  lost  faith  in  any 
mere  expression  or  demonstration  of  protest  as  a  means 
of  obtaining  the  redress  of  any  Irish   grievance.      In 


224  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

England,  public  opinion  tells.  In  Ireland,  it  counts  for 
little  or  nothing.  I  trust  that  the  public  men  who 
will  meet  on  Monday  may  be  able,  before  separating, 
to  sketch  out  the  lines  of  something  that  can  go  before 
the  country  as  a  practically  effective  step  towards  putting 
an  end,  once  for  all,  to  the  system  of  jury-packing  in 
our  courts." 

It  strikes  me  as  absurd  to  think  that  sensible,  Protes- 
tant citizens,  gaining  their  livelihood  amidst  a  hostile 
population  of  mis-educated,  narrow-minded  Catholics, 
like  those  poor  Connaught  Catholics  whom  we  are 
considering,  should — to  put  it  on  no  higher  level — 
be  foolish  enough  to  find  an  unjust  verdict  in  their 
capacity  as  sworn  jurymen,  trying  an  accused  person, 
because  that  person  happens  to  be  a  member  of  the 
dominant  Catholic  population !  We  may  be  sure  that 
common  sense  alone  would  urge  a  Protestant  jury, 
in  such  a  case,  if  they  were  to  deviate  from  the  strict 
line  of  justice  at  all,  to  lean  to  the  side  of  mercy  and 
clemency.  Mr.  M'Hugh's  speech  on  this  occasion, 
commencing,  "  My  lord  and  reverend  fathers,  and 
gentlemen,"  shows  how  saturated  with  subservience  to 
and  dependence  upon  the  priests  is  the  Irish  Party 
of  the  present  day. 

"  I  would  say  this,"  unctuously  declares  Mr.  M'Hugh, 
"  that  far  more  important  than  anything  that  has  tran- 
spired in  connection  with  the  matters  for  which  I  was 
imprisoned,  is  the  letter  from  his  Grace  the  Archbishop 
(loud  applause).  I  believe  that  letter  is  the  beginning 
of  the  end  of  things  (prolonged  applause).  .  .  .  Stripped 
of  all  quibbling  and  technicalities,  the  charge  against  me 
was  that  I  denounced  as  packed  the  jury  which  found  a 
verdict  of  guilty  in  the  case  of  the  Crown  against  Muffeny 
and  Maguire.  I  repeat  that  opinion  to-day.  ...  I  hold 
that  in  the  case  of  Muffeny  and  Maguire,  a  cruel  in- 
justice and  cowardly  crime  was  perpetrated  in  the  name 


MR.   M'HUGH,   M.P.  225 

of  tlie  law.  I  hold  that  jury-packing,  as  it  is  practised 
against  Irish  Nationalists  in  this  country,  is  an  instru- 
ment of  criminal  atrocity,  as  vile  and  as  dastardly  as 
the  cup  of  the  poisoner  or  the  bomb  of  the  anarchist." 

Mr.  Gladstone  deemed  it  to  be  "  a  gift  beyond  all 
others"  in  Lord  Palmorston,  that  he  "had  a  nature 
incapable  of  enduring  anger  or  any  sentiment  of 
wrath."  What  would  he  have  said  of  the  Catholic 
Connaughtman's  nature  ? 

Mr.M'Hugh  is  an  able  and  determined  man;  and  it  has 
always  struck  me  as  a  singular  pity  that  he,  and  many 
others  of  our  able  Catholic  Irishmen,  should  be  thus 
wasting  their  lives  mdulging  in  "  enduring  anger,"  nurs- 
ing feelings  of  revenge,  and  losing  sight  of  the  main 
point  of  their  existence.  I  have  often  felt  for  Mr. 
M'Hugh  in  particular,  for  he  seems  to  be  so  continually 
at  war  with  the  authorities.  If  Mr.  M'Hugh  and  the 
other  many  intelligent  Catholics  in  Sligo — which  is  the 
least  decadent  town  in  Connaught — would  devote  a 
little  time  to  the  consideration  of  "  religious  policy,"  as 
it  affects  their  daily  lives  and  prospects,  and  to  the 
development  of  their  own  self-control,  will-power,  and 
character,  as  independent  freemen  should,  in  those 
matters  which  touch  the  very  well-springs  of  human 
life,  they  should  soon  have  as  little  difficulty  with  the 
Government  as  their  Protestant  fellow-countrymen  in 
Londonderry  or  Antrim.  Mr.  M'Hugh  says  that  the 
address  of  the  Crown  Counsel,  in  the  particular  case 
in  question,  to  the  packed  jury  (I  give  Mr.  M'Hugh's 
words)  amounted,  in  effect,  to  this : — 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  Jury, — You  are  twelve  good  men 
and  true,  loyal  upholders  of  the  Crown  and  Constitution ; 
there  are  no  idolaters  amongst  you.  Here  are  two 
leaguers  from  Mayo  accused  of  conspiracy.  I  ask  you 
as  guardians  of  law  and  order  to  do  your  duty  like  men, 
as  your  fathers  did  before  you  at  Derry  and  the  Boyne." 

P 


226  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

And  Mr.  M'Hugli  adds  : — 

"  The  Crown  got  its  verdict,  and  Muffeny  and  Maguire 
were  imprisoned  for  six  months.  ...  I  say  that  the  ver- 
dict in  that  case  was  a  false  verdict,  and  that  even  if  it 
were  a  true  verdict,  the  attorney-general  had  for  the 
purpose  of  securing  it,  descended  to  methods,  for  the 
practice  of  which,  if  there  were  any  justice  in  the 
country,  he  would  have  been  impeached  and  punished 
as  a  traitor  to  the  Constitution.  Muffeny  and  Maguire 
were  tried  by  twelve  of  their  religious  and  iDolitical 
oi^ponents  specially  selected  to  convict  them.  It  was 
like  a  trial  of  pale-face  captives  by  painted  savages  on 
the  warpath." 

Public  sympathy  is  often  invoked  for  oppressed 
minorities ;  but  rarely  indeed  have  our  tears  been  asked 
for  on  behalf  of  a  persecuted  majority  like  those  622,626 
pale-faced,  Connaught,  Catholic  captives  on  their  trial 
before  26,968  painted  Protestant  Connaught  savages 
on  the  war-path !  The  tragedy  is  as  bad,  Mr.  M'Hugh 
thinks,  as  the  cup  of  the  poisoner  or  the  bomb  of  the 
anarchist !  Those  are  the  "  analogies,  contrasts,  and 
similitudes  "  upon  the  "  tracing-up  "  of  which  Bishop 
Clancy's  flock  employ  the  English  language  so  effec- 
tively. As  for  myself  I  cannot,  no  matter  how  long 
and  how  often  I  try  to  do  so,  bring  myself  to  agree  with 
this  statement  of  the  case.  It  may  be  my  stupidity, 
but  I  do  not  believe  that  our  Protestant  fellow-Chris- 
tians, as  sworn  jurymen,  give  false  verdicts  against 
Catholics  who  are  accused  of  breaches  of  the  law. 
There  may  have  been  injustice  in  the  past — I  do  not 
say  there  was — but  I  cannot  believe  that  it  exists 
to-day.  Mr.  M'Hugh's  grievance  is  that  the  exclusion 
of  Catholics  from  the  trial  of  such  cases  amounts  to  an 
imputation  that  they  "would  perjure  themselves  in  order 
that  Catholic  criminals  should  escape  the  punishment 
of  their  guilt."     He  says  the  imputation  "  is  a  dastardly 


PROTESTANT  JURORS 


227 


lie."  How,  then,  can  Mr.  M'Hugh,  as  a  rational  man, 
reconcile  it  to  his  conscience  to  accuse  Protestant  jurois 
of  an  even  worse  perjury,  namely  the  perjury  of  convict- 
ing innocent  Catholic  men  to  gratify  their  own  religious 
animosity  against  them  ?  It  is  too  monstrous  a  pro- 
position, and  I  can  only  believe  that  it  has  originated 
in  the  "  fertile  and  cultured  minds  "  of  the  unscrupulous 
priests,  intoxicated  with  excess  of  power,  who  now  rule 
the  Irish  Party  itself  as  well  as  the  poor  peasants  of 
Connaught,  and  who  soon  hope  to  rule,  in  a  State- subsi- 
dised university  of  their  own, all  the  "  educated  "  Catholic 
young  men  whose  fate  it  may  be  to  remain  in  Ireland. 
It  is  the  owners  of  the  largest  establishment  in 
Connaught  who  must  be  held  responsible  for  the  con- 
dition of  the  province,  which  has  lost  196,578  of  its 
population  since  1871  : — 


Governmental    and    Sacerdotal 
Establishraeuts  in  Connaught ; 
and  Illiterates.  1 

1 

0 

d 

a 

d 

0 

S 

s 

0 
0 

1 

d 

E 

1-5 

1 

c 

c 
0 
0 

Illiterates,  1901 .... 

Per 
Cent. 
331 

Per 
Cent. 
33-1 

Per 
Cent. 
21. 5 

Per 

Cent. 
23-9 

Per 

Cent. 
20.6 

Per 
Cent. 
26.4 

Imperial  and  Local  Government 
Establishments  combined,  in- 
cluding    Civil     Service     and 
Police,  1901     .... 

1070 

850 

448 

383 

332 

3083; 

Priests'  Establishment  admitted, 
including    Teachers,   but   not 
subsidiary  religious,  1901 

1324 

984 

548 

524 

387 

3767 

Do.,  including  subsidiaries,  1901 

1700 

1200 

710 

705 

510 

4825 

Priests  and  Nuns  only,  1871 

433 

206 

106 

121 

64 

930  ; 

Do.                     Do.          1901 

629 

323 

193 

214 

123 

1482  j 

'  Census  of  Ireland,"  187 1  and  1901. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE    APPARITIONS    AND    MIEACLES    AT    KNOCK 

It  is  this  backward  and  degenerate  province  of  Con- 
naught,  curious  to  say,  that  the  Blessed  Virgin,  St. 
Joseph,  St.  John  and  other  heavenly  personages,  select 
as  a  suitable  site  for  making  their  appearance  on  earth. 
In  the  year  1 879,  as  many  readers  will  recollect,  we  were 
informed  that  those  personages  appeared  at  Knock,  in 
the  county  of  Mayo,  and,  for  many  years  after,  pilgrim- 
ages used  to  be  made  to  that  place.  Even  still,  credulous 
persons  in  large  numbers  repair  there.  People  used  to 
bring  away  with  them  the  plaster  off  the  walls  of  the  old 
chapel  at  Knock,  and  bottlefuls  of  the  holy  water,  and 
they  used  to  mix  the  plaster  and  the  holy  water  into 
what  Danny  Man  would  call  "lime-stone  broth,"  and 
apply  the  concoction  to  sores,  swellings,  and  bruises,  as 
an  embrocation.  I  have  seen  it  done  myself,  in  locali- 
ties over  a  hundred  miles  away  from  Knock,  and  I  have 
heard  marvellous  cures  advertised  as  having  been 
effected  by  its  use.  Special  trains  used  to  be  run  at 
that  time  to  Knock,  and  crowds  of  people  used  to  travel 
by  them.  It  is  a  curious  coincidence  that  this  alleged 
apparition  at  Knock  took  place  three  years  after  the 
public  consecration  of  Lourdes.  And,  as  Lourdes  is  in 
the  most  benighted  and  out  of  the  way  part  of  France,  so 
is  Knock  in,  perhaps,  the  most  benighted  part  of  Ireland. 
But,  outside  Connaught,  Knock  is  not  as  famous  as 
it  was.     We  find  the  parish  priest  of  that  place  attending 

the  convention  of  the  United  Irish  League  in  Dublin, 

328 


CHRISTIAN  CHARITY  229 

and  making  a  prosaic  speech  upon  the  necessity  for 
land  purchase  and  for  a  non-miraculous  subdivision  of 
large  Connaught  holdings  amongst  the  small  cottiers  in 
the  congested  districts,  but  in  the  Knock  neighbourhood 
in  particular.  Father  Fallon,  P.P.,  speaking  of  the  large 
farmers  and  graziers  of  his  own  Heaven-favoured  dis- 
trict, is  reported  to  have  said  : — 

"  Some  people  would  tell  them  that  after  all  this  they 
were  bound  in  Christian  charity  to   look   after   these 

f)eople  (the  large  graziers),  and  to  look  after  their  bul- 
ocks,  to  make  up  their  fences,  to  shear  their  sheep  and 
to  make  the  shearing  a  gala  day,  to  give  them  a  prefe- 
rence of  the  stock  at  fair  and  market  day.  Well,  in  his 
opinion,  charity  began  at  home.  If  these  people  who 
talk  so  lightly  about  Christian  charity,  if  they  lived  in 
the  west  of  Ireland  and  knew  the  social  condition  of  the 
poor  people  " — at  Knock,  for  instance — "  they  would  not 
make  such  a  parade  of  their  Christian  charity."  ^ 

There  certainly  is  not  a  parade  of  Christian  charity 
anywhere  in  the  west  of  Ireland  at  present.  Father 
Fallon  paints  the  miseries  of  the  poor  Knock  harvest- 
man  in  harrowing  terms — "  going  across  to  England 
sometimes  as  old  as  forty  or  fifty  years,"  and  returning 
with  a  "  muffler  around  his  neck,  coughing,  and  his  wife 
expending  the  last  shilling  in  nursing  him,  and  going 
hopelessly  into  debt  to  defray  the  expenses  of  his 
funeral."  Do  Connaught  priests  attend  such  funerals  ? 
Do  Connaught  priests  accept  money  for  attending 
them  ?  Or  do  they  allow  such  poor  harvesters  to  be 
buried  without  a  burial  service  ? 

And  he  goes  on  to  depict  for  the  convention,  the 
position  of  the  widow  of  the  harvestman  after  the 
death  of  her  husband,  and  he  tells  the  delegates  at 
the  Rotunda,  and  Mr.  John  Redmond,  that 


1  Frccinan^i  Journal,  January  1902. 


230  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

"  if  they  saw  her  next  day,  coming  (silently  and  quietly 
to  the  parish  priest,  to  ask  him  to  get  the  Guardians  to 
give  her  is.  or  is.  6d.  per  week  to  buy  Indian  meal  for 
the  poor  orphans,  they  would  certainly  conclude  that 
Christian  charity  had  two  sides." 

It  was  on  the  2  ist  of  August  1879,  within  the  octave 
of  the  I  5  th  August,  a  holy  day  known  as  "  Lady  Day  in 
Harvest,"  that  the  "  remarkable  manifestations,"  as  they 
were  called,  appeared  at  the  gable  end  of  the  chapel  at 
Knock.  "  Time  alone  must  bring  forth  further  de- 
velopments of  those  divine  manifestations,"  ^  says  Mr. 
M'Philpin.  Time  has  not,  however,  brought  forth  any 
further  developments.  But  during  the  years  1880  and 
1 88 1,  while  distress  was  very  keen  amongst  the  farming 
and  labouring  classes  all  over  Ireland,  and  at  a  time  when 
the  Land  League — which  had  just  been  started  in  Mayo 
—  was  fast  making  headway  amongst  the  people  of 
Ireland,  the  Knock  Apparition  made  a  strong  clerical 
claim  on  the  attention  of  the  Irish  people.  It  appears 
that  publicity  was  first  given  to  the  apparition  in  the 
Tuam  News  of  the  9th  January  1880.  Thenceforward, 
for  months  after  that  date,  continuous  attention  was 
given  to  Knock  in  the  leading  London  newspapers  and 
in  the  entire  Irish  press.  We  find  its  parish  priest 
receiving  "  ninety  letters  "  per  day,  as  the  result !  The 
Daily  Telegraph  and  Daily  News,  and  other  great 
London  daily  papers,  sent  special  correspondents  to  the 
scene  of  the  apparition,  and  lengthened  accounts  of  the 
wonders  to  be  met  with  at  the  place  were  disseminated 
all  over  the  United  Kingdom  and  the  United  States. 
The  tale  of  Bernadette  Soubirous  was  still  fresh  in 
the  minds  of  the  public  at  the  time,  and,  therefore,  a 
receptive  audience  was  found  ready  for  a  repetition  of 
the  wonders  of  Lourdes. 

*  "The  Apparitions   and  Miracles  of  Knock,"  by  John  M'Philpin, 
Tuam.     Second  edition,  1894.    Dublin  :  M.  H.  Gill  &  Son. 


HEAVEN   AND   AMERICA  231 

The  village  of  Knock  itself  is  situated  in  the  south- 
east corner  of  Mayo,  close  to  the  Roscommon  border, 
and  in  Archbishop  MacEvilly's  diocese  of  Tuam,  He, 
however,  was  not  the  archbishop  at  the  time  of  the 
apparition.  The  village  is  on  the  railway  line  from 
Claremorris  to  Ballyhaunis.  The  country  is  of  the  same 
squalid  nature  as  that  which  I  have  described  in  the 
Castlerea  district,  situated  a  few  miles  to  the  north  of  it. 
The  poor  people  of  the  locality,  in  1 880,  firmly  believed 
in  the  apparition,  and  still  believe.     We  are  told  that 

"  a  vast  gathering  of  people  from  all  the  border  towns, 
within  a  circuit  of  twenty  miles,  assembled  at  this  un- 
pretending little  village.  Some  of  the  pilgrim  travellers 
started  before  day,  guided  by  the  light  of  the  stars 
alone,  and  urged  onward  by  the  fervour  of  their  own 
faith." 

We  are  told  that 

"  there  one  could  behold  the  blind,  the  lame,  the 
crippled,  the  deformed,  the  deaf,  the  paralytic — all 
seelcmg  to  be  cured,  like  those  that  the  Redeemer 
found  at  the  pool  of  Bethesda  in  Jerusalem." 

We  are  informed  by  Mr.  M'Philpin,  who  is  himself  a 
native  of  the  locality,  that 

"  the  children  of  the  faith  see  nothing  wonderful  at 
all  in  these  manifestations.  It  is  to  them  something 
that  they  expect,  or  if  they  did  not  actually  expect 
their  coming  at  this  time  or  place,  they  see  nothing 
incongruous  in  the  fact  that  they  have  occurred.  The 
spiritual  world  is  to  them  like  a  land  with  which  they 
are  familiar,  from  that  knowledge  which  their  holy 
faith  supplies,  pretty  much  as  they  are  not  put  out  of 
sorts  with  anything  they  hear  or  see  from  America  (a 
far-off  land);  because,  m  this  instance,  American  life 
and  habits  are  something  with  which  they  are  familiar, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  their  relatives  in  that  country 


232  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

commune  with  their  friends  in  Ireland,  and  tell  them 
all  regarding  themselves  and  American  life  and  manners. 
In  this  way  our  Catholic  people  are  not  at  all  put  about 
by  the  narration  of  miracles  or  miraculous  operations 
at  Knock." 

In  a  word,  the  Mayo,  Galway,  and  Roscommon 
people  are  in  as  close  touch  with  the  spiritual  world, 
according  to  Mr.  M'Philpin — and  he  is  one  of  them — 
as  they  are  with  America.  A  cardinal  point  of  difference, 
however,  as  it  appears  to  me,  is  this,  that,  in  their 
connection  with  the  spiritual  world,  all  the  money  is 
extracted  from  the  Connaught  people  for  the  benefit  of 
the  spirits ;  whereas  in  their  dealings  with  America, 
all  the  money  comes  from  America  for  the  benefit  of 
the  Connaught  people.  The  Mayo  people  were,  we  are 
assured,  not  a  bit  surprised  at  these  Knock  apparitions. 
Certain  it  is,  the  then  parish  priest  of  Knock  does  not 
seem  to  have  been  taken  by  surprise !  In  fact  the 
Knock  people  consider  that  the  apparitions  were  a  very 
poor  and  meagre  manifestation  for  the  spiritual  world 
to  make  in  a  county  whose  living  inhabitants  had  been 
remitting  so  largely  on  behalf  of  the  "  Holy  Souls." 
The  occurrence  of  the  apparition  is  thus  described  in 
the  first  printed  account  of  it  in  the  Tuam  News :  "  On 
Thursday,  the  2 1  st  August  last,  the  eve  of  the  octave 
day  of  the  assumption  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  was 
accompanied  by  a  blinding  drizzle  of  rain,  which  con- 
tinued until  the  next  day."  I  well  remember  that 
dreadful  harvest  of  '79.  The  corn  was  not  only  miser- 
ably poor,  but  the  weather  was  so  bad  that  it  was  almost 
impossible  to  save  it.  I  happened  to  be  riding  Avith  my 
uncle  to  Bartlemy  Fair,  in  county  Cork,  on  the  17th 
of  September  that  year;  and  we  passed  several  fields  of 
corn  which  was  still  as  green  as  grass  !  Things  must 
have  been  at  a  dreadful  pass  in  this  Knock  district  in 


THE  APPARITION  233 

that  month  of  August  1879,  for  even  m  the  wealthy 
parts  of  Ireland  the  distress  was  exceedingly  acute. 
But  let  us  continue  the  account  given  in  the  Tumn 

News : — 

"As  some  persons  were  hurriedly  going  along  the 
road  which  leads  to  the  chapel,  at  about  7.30  p.m.,  they 
perceived  the  wall  beautifully  illuminated  by  a  soft 
white  flickering  light,  through  which  could  be  perceived 
brilliant  stars  twinkling,  as  on  a  fine  frosty  night.  The 
first  person  who  saw  it  passed  on,  but  others  soon 
came" — we  shall  see  that  they  were  summoned  at  the 
instigation  of  the  priest's  housekeeper — "  and  remained, 
and  these  saw,  covering  a  large  portion  of  the  gable  end 
of  the  sacristy,  an  altar,  and  to  its  sides  the  figures  of 
St.  John  the  Evangelist,  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and  St. 
Joseph.  On  the  altar,  which  stood  about  eight  feet 
from  the  ground,  and  immediately  under  the  window, 
a  lamp  stood,  and  rising  up  behind  the  lamp  was  the 
crucifix,  with  the  figure  of  our  Lord  painted.  The  altar 
was  surrounded  by  a  brilliant  golden  light,  through 
which,  up  and  down,  angels  seemed  to  be  flitting.  Near 
the  altar  was  St.  John,  having  a  mitre  on  his  head.  .  .  . 
To  St.  John's  right,  the  Blessed  Virgin,  having  her 
hands  extended  and  raised  towards  her  shoulders,  the 
palms  of  her  hands  turned  towards  the  people,  and 
her  eyes  raised  up  towards  heaven.  To  the  Blessed 
Virgin's  right  was  St.  Joseph,  turned  towards  her,  and 
in  an  inclining  posture.  These  figures  remained  visible 
from  7.30  to  10  P.M.,  witnessed  during  that  time  by 
about  twenty  persons,  who  forgot  all  about  the  rain 
that  was  then  falling  and  drenched  them  through." 

The  foregoing  refers  exclusively  to  the  apparition  of 
the  2 1st  of  August  1879,  and  was  not  published  until  the 
9th  of  January  1880.  On  the  Monday  evening  previous 
to  the  9th  of  January,  the  eve  of  the  Epiphany, 

"  a  bright  light  was  again  visible,  and  from  1 1  p.m.  until 
2  A.M.  was  seen  by  a  very  large  number,  of  whom  two 
were  members  of  the  Royal  Irish  Constabulary,  who 


234  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

were  on  patrol  duty  that  evening.  One  of  them  said 
that  up  to  that  time  he  did  not  believe  in  it,  but  he 
was  really  startled  by  the  brightness  of  the  light  he 
saw." 

It  seems  incredible,  nowadays,  that  members  of 
the  Royal  Irish  Constabulary  should  be  adduced  as 
witnesses  in  favour  of  a  popular  demonstration  in  Mayo. 
The  members  of  that  force  are,  as  we  know,  to-day 
looked  upon  as  perjurers  in  that  county,  upon  whose 
oaths  innocent  men  are  frequently  imprisoned  and 
sometimes  executed.  But  twenty  years  ago  it  was  con- 
sidered most  valuable  to  have  the  testimony  of  these 
two  policemen  to  prove  that  the  Blessed  Virgin  visited 
Knock. 

But,  police  or  no  police,  it  is  true  that  a  bright  light 
can  be  produced  without  any  supernatural  intervention 
whatever.  It  is  also  true  that  the  form  of  the  appari- 
tion itself  was  precisely  that  of  an  altar  in  any  Roman 
Catholic  church,  with  the  statues  and  symbols  which 
decorate  it.  It  is  also  true  that  such  a  representation 
could  without  difficulty  be  thrown  upon  a  wall  in  the 
twilight  and  night-time  of  a  summer's  evening  by  means 
of  a  mechanical  appliance.  It  is  equally  true  that  if 
such  a  representation  were  so  thrown  upon  the  gable  end 
of  a  chapel,  in  a  benighted  region  like  that  of  Knock, 
inhabited  by  people  who  are  almost  as  superstitious 
and  as  ignorant  as  the  natives  of  mid -Africa,  that  any 
one  of  them  who  chanced  to  see  it,  Mr.  M'Philpin 
notwithstanding,  would  be  startled  out  of  his  wits,  and 
would  not  have  the  presence  of  mind  to  endeavour  to 
discover  the  cause  of  it.  With  a  view  to  meeting 
objections,  it  is  suggested  that — "  the  time  at  which  the 
apparition  appeared  was  some  twenty  minutes  after 
sunset,  so  that  by  no  law  of  radiation  from  reflected 
light  could  the  images  be  thrown  naturally  or  artiji- 


THE   PASTOR  235 

dally  from  the  clouds"  Nobody  but  Mr.  Santos- 
Dumont,  who  at  that  time  was  wearing  pinafores,  could 
very  well  manage  to  throw  the  images  from  the  clouds. 
But  it  is  perfectly  evident  to  any  one  that  the  apparition 
which  appeared  at  the  gable  end  of  Knock  church 
could  have  been  quite  easily  cast — not  "  from  the 
clouds,"  but  from  the  earth  itself — by  a  mechanical 
appliance  directed  on  to  the  wall  of  the  church ;  and, 
having  been  so  cast,  that  it  would  have  produced  all 
the  effects  of  astonishment  and  wonder  which  we  are 
told  the  apparition  produced  upon  the  poor  Mayo  yokels 
who  saw  it.  The  bright  light  which  appeared  subse- 
quently, on  the  evening  of  the  5th  of  January  1880, 
was  even  more  easy  to  produce. 

I  venture  to  say  that  if  two  young  Royal  Irish  Con- 
stabulary men,  at  the  present  day,  saw  such  a  light 
they  would  not  leave  the  ground  without  discovering 
the  source  from  which  it  came.  Twenty  years'  interval 
has  made  a  great  change  in  the  intellectual  attainments 
of  that  much-abused  body  of  Irishmen. 

A  further  explanation  of  the  apparition  is  advanced 
to  this  effect.  Archdeacon  Cavanagh  was  at  that  time 
parish  priest  of  Knock  and  Aughamore,  and  we  are  told 
that 

"  the  archdeacon  confines  his  ministrations  and  per- 
sonal care  chiefly  to  the  parish  of  Knock,  looking  after 
the  wants,  spiritual  and  temporal,  of  the  people,  and 
relieving  them  in  their  hours  of  trial  and  attending  to 
all  sick-calls.  The  residence  of  the  archdeacon  is  quite 
near  the  chapel,  say,  about  two  minutes'  walk.  It  is  a 
plain,  thatched  cottage,  consisting  of  three  rooms  and 
a  kitchen.  .  .  .  Quails  pater,  talis  filiv.s,  is  an  old 
adage  which  may  be  turned  a  little  into  the  following : 
Qualis  iiastor,  talis  grex — like  pastor,  like  flock.  The 
pastor  of  Knock  and  Aughamore  is  zealous,  devoted  to 
his  sacred  calling,  a  humble  client  of  Mary,  the  mother 


236  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

of  God ;  and  so  the  people,  at  least  many  of  them,  are 
simple  in  their  habits  of  life  and  imbued  with  deep- 
seated  love  of  their  holy  religion.  Like  the  priest  who 
teaches  them,  they  have  great  faith  in  our  Blessed 
Lord,  and  the  fullest  hope  in  His  saving  merits ;  they 
are  imbued  with  a  deep  devotional  attachment  to  the 
Blessed  Mother  of  the  Redeemer." 

Thus  we  find  it  is  because  Archdeacon  Cavanagh 
was  such  an  admirable  man,  and  his  flock  were  so  like 
their  pastor,  that  the  apparition  appeared  at  Knock.  I 
should  not  be  inclined  to  take  any  of  the  credit,  given 
to  Archdeacon  Cavanagh  for  the  apparition,  away 
from  that  sacerdotal  paragon.  Next  follows  an  extra- 
ordinary statement,  which  goes  to  prove  the  intimate 
terms  of  familiarity  which,  it  is  claimed,  subsist  be- 
tween the  Mayo  peasants  and  the  great  Redeemer  of 
the  universe : — 

"All  the  peasant  Catholics  of  the  west  of  Ireland 
regard  our  Blessed  Lady  pretty  much  as  they  do  a 
respected  and  honoured  member  of  the  household  to 
which  each  respectively  belongs.  Christ  is  their 
brother,  the  Eternal  Son  of  our  common  Heavenly 
Father ;  the  Holy  Mary,  His  mother,  is  their  mother ; 
and  for  her  their  love  and  veneration  is  childlike  and 
elevated." 

In  a  word,  according  to  Mr.  M'Philpin,  author  of  this 
semi-official  account  of  the  Apparition  and  Miracles  of 
Knock,  the  reason  the  Blessed  Virgin  appeared  at  that 
place  was  because  the  people  of  that  favoured  locality 
are  more  or  less  behind  the  scenes,  and  in  a  position 
to  regard  the  members  of  the  holy  family  in  the  light 
of  intimate  acquaintances,  from  whom  a  visit  is  a  thing 
of  course,  and  requiring  no  explanation.  Thackeray 
ridicules  the  snobbish  pressman  in  London  who  pre- 
tends to  a  familiarity  with  the  Duke  of  Wellington 


The  Ideal  Child  of  Mary  (Enfant  de  Marie) 

rreseiitatioiis  like  this  are  to  be  seen  in  every  convent,  and  are 
circulated  in  immense  ((uantities.  They  exercise  a  jjotent  influence 
over  children. 

"  A  Child  of  Mary  writes  :  '  I  ask  all  who  read  this  to  say  a  pater 
and  ave  for  my  intention,  and  a  Hail  JIary  to  St.  E.xpedit,  St 
Anthony,  and  Blessed  Gerard'  "  (p.  430). 


THE  TESTIMONY  237 

and  with  all  the  other  great  men  of  the  day ;  but  this 
familiarity  of  the  Knock  people  with  our  Divine  Lord 
and  the  Blessed  Virgin  and  St.  Joseph,  advanced  by 
Mr.  M'Philpin,  beats  Thackeray's  Irishman  hollow. 

Depositions  were  made  by  some  of  the  people  who 
saw  the  apparition  of  the  2 1  st  August.  It  is  not 
averred  that  the  depositions  were  "  sworn,"  but  it  is 
claimed  for  them  that  "  they  were  taken  in  the  presence 
of  Archdeacon  Cavanagh,  Canon  Waldron  of  Bally- 
haunis,  and  Canon  Bourke  of  Kilcolman,  who  was 
deputed  by  the  Archbishop  of  Tuam  to  investigate 
the  truth  of  the  vision."  The  first  witness  and  the 
chief  plank  in  the  apparition  platform  is  "  Patrick 
Hill,  of  Claremorris,  a  young,  frank,  intelligent  boy 
of  about  thirteen  years  of  age."  It  is  urged  on  behalf 
of  young  Hill  that 

"to  all  who  question  him,  he  repHes  with  an  open, 
childlike  simplicity  of  manner.  He  states  some  points 
to  which  other  eye-witnesses  do  not  even  allude;  for 
instance,  that  on  the  forehead  of  the  figure  representing 
the  Blessed  Virgin,  he  saw  just  under  the  circuit  of 
the  crown,  and  where  on  the  human  head  the  hair 
grows,  a  full-blown  rose.  The  other  witnesses  do  not 
even  allude  to  this  remarkable  fact.  .  .  .  Other  wit- 
nesses say  that  they  only  saw  glittering  Hghts  around 
the  lamp,  but  that  they  were  not  angels.  Master  Hill 
declares  that  they  appeared  to  him  to  move,  and,  as  it 
were,  on  wing,  but  he  could  not  see  their  faces.  .  .  . 
Then  again  he  saw,  he  states,  not  alone  the  eyes  of 
the  Immaculate  Lady,  but  the  iris  and  the  pupil  in 
each."  And  we  are  triumphantly  asked  to  believe  that 
"  no  phosphoric  or  electric  action  could  bring  out  the 
distinct  brightness  of  the  pupil  of  the  eye." 

Let  us  take  a  few  sentences  from  httle  Patrick  Hill's 
testimony  direct,  and  form  our  own  opinions : — 


238  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

"  I  am  Patrick  Hill.  I  live  in  Claremorris ;  my  aunt 
lives  at  Knock.  I  remember  tlie  21st  August  last.  On 
that  day  I  was  bringing  home  turf  or  peat  from  the  bog 
on  an  ass."  This  is  the  youth  so  respectfully  spoken  of 
as  "  Master "  Hill !  "  While  at  my  aunt's,  at  about  8 
o'clock  in  the  evening,  Dominick  Beirne  came  into  the 
house.  He  cried  out :  '  Come  up  to  the  chapel  and  see 
the  miraculous  lights  and  the  beautiful  visions  that  are 
to  be  seen  there.' " 

Now,  is  it  not  evident  that  these  words,  "  Come  up  to 
the  chapel  and  see  the  miraculous  lights  and  the  beauti- 
ful visions,"  were  not  the  words  which  would  be  used  by 
a  Knock  peasant  boy  speaking  under  excitement  ?  Yet 
they  are  the  literal  words  given  in  the  testimony  of 
Patrick  Hill.  Why  is  Httle  Patrick  Hill  selected  to 
give  his  testimony  first  ?  Dominick  Beirne  is  put  down 
as  being  twenty  years  of  age.  Why  does  he  not  speak 
for  himself?  But  young  Hill  goes  on  to  say  that  he 
went  out,  and  a  small  boy,  named  John  Curry,  came 
with  him  : — 

"  I  saw  everything  distinctly.  The  figures  were  full 
and  round,  as  if  they  had  body  and  life.  They  said 
nothing,  but  as  we  approached  them  they  seemed  to  go 
back  a  little  towards  the  gable.  I  distinctly  beheld  the 
Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  life  size,  standing  about  two  feet 
or  so  above  the  ground,  clothed  in  white  robes,  which 
were  fastened  at  the  neck.  .  .  .  She  appeared  to  be 
praying.  .  .  .  She  wore  a  brilliant  crown  on  her  head, 
and,  over  the  forehead  where  the  crown  fitted  the  brow, 
a  beautiful  rose.  The  crown  appeared  brilliant  and  of 
golden  brightness  of  a  deeper  hue,  inclined  to  a  mellow 
yellow,  than  the  striking  whiteness  of  the  robes  she 
wore.  The  upper  part  of  the  crown  appeared  to  be  a 
series  of  sparkles  or  glittering  crosses.  I  saw  her  eyes, 
the  balls,  the  pupils  and  iris  of  each.  I  saw  the  feet 
and  ankles;  I  saw  them  move.  She  did  not  speak. 
I  went  up  very  near.  One  old  woman  went  up  and 
embraced  the  Virgin's  feet,  and  she  found  nothing  in 
her  arms  or  hands." 


THE  HOUSEKEEPER  239 

That  is  to  say,  that  the  figures  upon  whose  fulness 
and  roundness  such  stress  is  laid  were  found  not  to  be 
substantial,  but  merely  reflections. 

"  I  saw  St.  Joseph  to  the  Blessed  Virgin's  right  hand. 
His  head  was  bent  from  the  shoulders  forward.  He 
appeared  to  be  paying  his  respects.  I  noticed  his 
whiskers;  they  appeared  to  be  slightly  grey.  There 
was  a  dark  line  or  dark  mearing  between  the  figure  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin  and  that  of  St.  Joseph,  so  that  one 
could  know  St.  Joseph  and  the  place  where  his  figure 
appeared  distinctly  from  that  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and 
the  spot  where  she  stood." 

How  conveniently  arranged  the  figures  were  !  Does 
not  this  dark  mearing — a  word  which  means  boundary 
or  boundary-fence  in  the  west  of  Ireland — seem  strangely 
like  the  dividing  mark  between  two  photographs  ?  The 
deposition  of  the  boy  Hill  is  dated  October  8,  1 879.  It 
thus  concludes : — 

"  For  the  space  of  one  hour  and  a  half  we  were  under 
the  pouring  rain.  At  this  time  I  was  very  wet.  I 
noticed  that  the  rain  did  not  wet  the  figures  which 
appeared  before  me,  although  I  was  wet  myself.  I  went 
away  then." 

Archdeacon  Cavanagh's  housekeeper  is  the  second 
witness.  She  saw  the  wonderful  figures  on  the  gable 
end  of  the  chapel,  having  just  emerged  herself  from  the 
priest's  house  on  her  way  to  Knock  village : — 

"  I  was  wondering  to  see  there  such  an  extraordinary 
group,"  she  says ;  "  yet  I  passed  on  and  said  nothing, 
thinking  that  possibly  the  archdeacon  had  been  sup- 
plied with  these  beautiful  figures  from  Dublin  or  some- 
where else,  and  that  he  said  nothing  about  them,  but 
left  them  in  the  open  air."  Extraordinary  behaviour 
this,  to  "  pass  on  and  say  nothing,"  to  assume  that  new 
statues  just  arrived  from  Dublin  might  be  out  for  the 
night  under  a  heavy  downpour  of  rain,  floating  in  the 


240  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

air !  "  I  saw  a  white  light  about  them.  I  thought 
the  whole  thing  strange.  After  looking  at  them  I 
passed  on  to  the  house  of  Mrs.  Beirne,  in  the  village. 
After  reaching  Widow  Beirne's  house  I  stayed  there 
half-an-hour  at  least." 

She  stayed  there  half-an-hour,  and  evidently  never 
said  a  word  to  the  inmates  of  that  house  about  the 
wonderful  apparition  which  she  had  seen  !  But,  on  her 
way  home,  she  asks  the  girl,  Mary  Beirne,  to  accompany 
her.    And  her  deposition  thus  goes  on  : — 

"As  we  approached  the  chapel  she  (Mary  Beirne) 
cried  out,  'Look  at  the  beautiful  figures.'  We  gazed 
on  them  for  a  little,  and  then  /  told  her  to  go  for  her 
TRother,  Widow  Beirne,  and  her  brother,  and  her  sister, 
and  her  niece,  who  were  still  in  the  house  when  she 
and  I  left." 

The  parish  priest's  housekeeper,  mark  you,  in  the  first 
place,  "  passes  by  "  the  apparition ;  in  the  second  place, 
makes  no  mention  of  it  in  Widow  Beirne's  house  ;  in 
the  third  place,  lets  Mary  Beirne  discover  it  for  herself 
on  the  way  home.  But,  when  once  the  girl  Beirne  has 
seen  the  figures,  and  breaks  out  into  exclamations  of 
astonishment,  the  housekeeper  coolly  directs  the  girl 
to  go  back  to  the  house  and  bring  out  all  her  relatives 
who  were  there  to  witness  the  sight !  When  the  mother, 
sister,  niece,  and  brother  of  Mary  Beirne  came  up,  the 
housekeeper  deposes  that  she 

"  told  Miss  Beirne  then  to  go  for  her  uncle,  Bryan 
Beirne,  and  her  aunt,  Mrs.  Bryan  Beirne,  or  any  of  the 
neigJihours  whom  she  sJiould  see,  in  order  that  they  might 
witness  the  sight  that  they  were  then  enjo3dng.  .  .  ." 

Thus  we  see  that  the  whole  thing,  so  far  as  the  col- 
lection of  sightseers  is  concerned,  was  set  in  motion  by 


THE   PRIEST'S   ABSENCE  241 

Archdeacon  Ccavanagh's  housekeeper.  But  an  even 
more  extraordinary  part  of  the  housekeeper's  evidence 
is  the  following  : — 

"  I  parted  from  the  company  or  gathering  at  eight- 
and-a-half  o'clock.  I  went  to  the  priest's  house  and 
told  him  vjhat  I  had  beheld,  and  spoke  of  the  beautiful 
things  that  were  to  be  seen  at  the  gable  of  the  chapel. 
I  aslccd  him,  or  said,  rather,  it  would  be  worth  his 
while  to  go  to  witness  them.  He  appeared  to  make 
nothing  of  what  I  said,  and,  consequently,  he  did  not  go." 

To  mc  it  appears  inexplicable  that  Archdeacon 
Cavanagh  would  not  leave  his  room  on  that  August 
evening  to  see  the  extraordinary  apparition  which  his 
housekeeper  had  just  been  collecting  the  entire  village 
to  witness.  His  conduct  evidently  struck  those  who 
compiled  the  depositions  as  requiring  explanation,  and 
the  plea  advanced  for  him  by  the  housekeeper  is  :  "  The 
Very  Rev.  B.  Cavanagh  heard  the  next  day  all  about 
the  apparition  from  the  others  who  had  beheld  it,  and 
then  it  came  to  his  recollection  that  I  had  told  him  the 
previous  evening  about  it,  and  asked  him  to  see  it." 
In  a  place  where  daily  life  is  so  dull  as  it  is  at  Knock, 
is  it  likely  that  such  an  unusual,  unexpected  sight  as 
this,  reported  to  a  parish  priest  as  occurring  actually  at 
the  moment  at  his  own  chapel,  within  a  minute's  walk 
of  his  sitting-room,  would  thus  be  suffered  to  pass  un- 
heeded ?  Is  it  likely  that  he  would  not  only  not  go  out 
to  see  it  when  asked,  but  that  he  would  even  forget 
being  told  about  it  ?  Is  it  likely  that  a  crowd  of  people 
could  be  witnessing  such  a  sight  for  two  hours  and 
a  half  in  his  immediate  neighbourhood,  and  that  he 
would  not  bo  cognisant  of  the  fact,  or  feel  any  anxiety 
to  investigate  the  matter  ?  An  Irish  parish  priest  who 
thinks  no  dog  in  his  parish  has  a  right  to  bark  without 

Q 


242  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

his  leave  !     There  is  a  note  appended  to  the  house- 
keeper's evidence,  as  follows  : — 

"The  housekeeper  had  gone  away  before  Patrick 
Hill  came.  Their  testimony  relates  to  two  distinct  and 
separate  times  while  |the  apparition  was  present.  She 
saAv  it  like  one  who  did  not  care  to  see  it,  and  in  a 
transverse  direction,  not  straight;  he  saw  it  directly 
and  fully,  and  like  a  confiding  child  went  up  calmly  to 
where  the  Blessed  Virgin  stood." 

In  this  case  it  is  evident  that  the  child's  the  thing, 
the  evidence  of  the  imaginative  young  Patrick  Hill  was 
what  was  prized  and  relied  upon. 

Next  we  get  Mary  Beirne's  evidence.  It  is  stated 
that  she  was  twenty- six  years  of  age,  and  her  deposition 
describes  the  apparition  just  as  the  housekeeper  has 
done.  And  the  testimony  of  Patrick  Welsh,  aged 
sixty-five,  follows,  who  saw  the  "  vision  "  on  the  chapel 
gable  from  one  of  his  fields;  then  the  testimony  of 
Patrick  Beirne,  sixteen  years  of  age ;  and  that  of  the 
widow  Beirne  before  referred  to ;  and  of  Dominick 
Beirne,  who  was  called  to  see  the  apparition  by  his 
sister,  Mary,  at  the  instigation  of  the  housekeeper, 
and  who  in  his  turn  went  for  and  brought  young  Patrick 
Hill  to  loitncss  it.  But  young  Patrick  Hill's  evidence 
is  placed  before  that  of  all  the  others,  and  is  the  main 
strand  employed  in  the  twisting  of  the  Knock  rope  of 
testimony.  Mrs.  Hugh  Flatley  says  that  she  saw  the 
apparition  as  she  chanced  to  be  passing  by  the  chapel 
about  eight  o'clock,  and  adds :  "  I  thought  that  the 
parish  priest  had  been  ornamenting  the  church,  and 
got  some  beautiful  likenesses  removed  outside."  Mr. 
M'Philpin  says,  "  that  a  visit  from  the  Blessed  Virgin 
herself  would  not  much  surprise  the  Knock  people." 
Without  committing  oneself  on  that  point,  any  one  may 
safely  infer  from  the  evidence  of  this  witness  that  a  visit 


NEW  STATUES  IN   KNOCK  243 

paid  to  the  locality  by  a  new  batch  of  plaster-ot-Paris 
statues  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  St.  Joseph,  and  St.  John 
would  not  at  all  surprise  the  Knock  people  at  that  time. 
An  old  woman,  named  Bridget  French,  aged  seventy- 
five,  also  testifies  to  having  seen  the  apparition.  She 
too  was  called  out  to  see  it  by  Mary  Beirne.  Catherine 
Murray,  a  little  girl  of  eight,  also  testifies  to  having  seen 
it ;  and  even  the  testimony  of  John  Curry,  six  years  old, 
is  cited  in  support  of  the  apparition. 

Judith  Campbell,  of  Knock,  the  twelfth  of  the  wit- 
nesses, says :  "  Mary  Beirne  called  at  my  house  about 
eight  o'clock  on  that  evening,  and  asked  me  to  go  to 
see  the  great  sight  of  the  chapel."  Judith  at  once 
went  out  and  saw  what  she  describes  as  "  three  figures, 
representing  St.  Joseph,  St.  John,  and  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary ;  also  an  altar  and  the  likeness  of  a  lamb  on  it, 
with  a  cross  at  the  back  of  the  lamb."  Why  does 
Judith  Campbell  describe  what  she  saw  as  "  three  figures 
representiiKj  "  the  three  heavenly  personages  ?  Why 
does  she  not  say  that  she  saw  the  three  heavenly  per- 
sonages themselves  ?  How  could  she  know  that  the 
three  figures  which  she  saw  represented  the  three  per- 
sonages named,  except  from  the  fact  that  she  had  been 
accustomed  to  see  statues  purporting  to  represent  those 
personages  in  the  chapel  of  Knock,  and  that  what  she 
saw  outside  the  chapel,  on  this  night,  was  a  reproduction 
of  the  statues  which  she  had  been  accustomed  to  see 
loithin  it  ?  Nobody  ever  drew  a  portrait  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  St.  John,  or  St.  Joseph,  while  they  were  alive  on 
earth.  No  such  portrait  has  ever  been  handed  down 
to  us,  and  all  likenesses  of  those  personages  are  purely 
imaginary,  varying  according  to  the  taste  of  the  indi- 
vidual painter ;  and  there  must  be  hundreds  of  diff'erent 
representations  of  each  one  of  them  in  the  various 
Catholic  countries  of  the  world.     It  is  perfectly  safe  to 


244  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

assert  that  not  one  of  any  of  these  representations  is 
actually  true,  or  even  within  measurable  distance  of 
being  a  likeness.  And  if  those  personages  were  to 
appear  at  Knock  in  bodily  form,  as  they  really  were  in 
Palestine  when  in  the  flesh,  neither  Judith  Campbell,  nor 
any  one  else,  would  recognise  them ;  so  different  would 
they  be  from  the  "  figures  representing  them,"  which 
they  see  in  their  chapels.  Judith  Campbell  winds  up 
her  evidence  with  the  following  significant  remark : 
"  Though  it  was  raining,  the  place  in  which  the  figures 
appeared  was  quite  dry."  Young  Hill  also  said  he 
"  noticed  that  the  rain  did  not  wet  the  figures,"  by  which, 
doubtless,  he  too  means  that  "  the  place  in  which  the 
figures  appeared  was  dry  " ;  for  he  says  the  figures  were 
mere  unsubstantial  shadows.  Now,  would  the  place  not 
be  "  quite  dry  "  if  it  were  sheltered  by  an  over-hanging 
mirror  arrangement  projecting  over  the  sacristy  window, 
underneath  which  the  apparition  was  seen  to  remain 
steadily  for  two  hours  and  a  half? 

The  thirteenth  witness  is  Margaret  Beirne,  Mary 
Beirne's  sister ;  the  fourteenth  witness  is  Dominick 
Beirne,  senior ;  and  the  fifteenth  witness  is  John 
Durkan. 

This  forms  the  sum  of  the  testimony  of  the  actual 
eye-witnesses  of  the  apparition  on  the  2 1  st  of  August. 
The  apparition  which  was  seen  on  the  following  5  th  of 
January  was  a  simple  light,  already  referred  to,  without 
figures.  One  can  admit  nothing  of  the  supernatural  in 
a  more  light,  even  though  it  be  described  as  "  extra- 
ordinary stars  and  globes  of  flame  on  the  church  gable," 
and  even  though  it  be  seen  by  two  policemen  out  on 
midnight  patrol.  The  two  particular  policemen  who 
saw  it  are  thus  described  by  Mr.  M'Philpin  :  "  The  names 
of  these  servants  of  the  Government  are  Collins  and 
Fraher ;  one  a  native  of  Galway,  the  other  of  Tipperary." 


REPEATED  APPARITIONS  245 

They  could  not  possibly  have  been  in  league  with  any 
one  connected  with  the  chapel ! 

On  the  I  oth  of  February,  it  is  alleged  that  another 
remarkable  apparition  appeared.  It  was  seen  by  '■  John 
P.  M'Closkey,  Simon  Conway,  and  Thomas  M'Gcoghan, 
imd  by  Martin  Hession,  of  Tuain,  an  intelligent  assist- 
ant at  Mrs.  Murphy's  establishment."  The  depositions 
of  these  witnesses  are  taken  by  Mr.  Joseph  Bennett, 
special  correspondent  of  the  London  Daibj  TdegraiJh, 
at  that  time  foremost  in  the  van  of  sensation-purveyors 
and  circulation  -  seekers  amongst  the  London  daily 
papers.  It  appears  that  M'Closkey,  Conway,  and 
M'Gcoghan  "left  Clarcmorris  at  10  p.m.  o'clock"  on 
the  9th  February,  bound  for  Knock,  three  youths  eager 
for  a  sensation,  their  intention  being  to  arrive  there  at 
midnight  on  the  chance  of  beholding  the  apparition. 
M'Closkey  is  described  as  "  remarkable  from  his  child- 
hood for  his  guileless,  honest  and  pious  course  of  life." 
He  was  at  the  time  about  eighteen  years  old.  His 
story  is  thus  told  :— 

"After  we  had  arrived,  we  continued  to  pray  for 
some  time.  At  about  three-and-a-half  o'clock  on  the 
morning  of  the  lOth  February,  while  I  was  praying 
before  the  gable  of  the  Knock  chapel,  I  saw  a  light  like 
a  white  silvery  cloud  moving  in  a  slanting  direction 
over  from  where  the  cross  stands  on  the  apex,  and  over- 
spreading the  gable.  In  this  bright  cloud  I  saw  dis- 
tinctly the  figure  and  form  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary, 
so  clearly  and  fully  that  I  perceived  the  fleshy  colour 
of  the  feet.  Her  dress  resembled  that  made  of  white 
satin,  and  it  contained,  numerous  folds.  ...  A  star 
continued  at  intervals  to  twinkle  right  over  the  region 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin's  heart,  and  a  little  group  of  tour 
or  five  stars  were  seen  on  the  left  side  of  the  head." 

Conway  and  M'Geoghan  corroborate  this,  and  I  have 
no  doubt  whatever  about  their  having  seen  it. 


246  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

Young  Martin  Hession,  "  Mrs.  Murphy's  intelligent 
assistant,"  saw,  at  8  p.m.  on  the  same  evening,  "  beautiful 
lights  of  many  colours  ...  at  times  exceedingly  bright. 
Stars  appeared  .  .  .  the  lights  continued  coming  and 
going  until  about  half-past  six  next  morning."  I  quite 
believe  the  young  man  saw  all  these  things.  Poor  boy, 
I  wonder  if  he  is  still  alive  after  that  long  vigil  in  the 
rain.  He  says,  "  I  remained  up  all  night  looking  at 
the  figures  and  lights."  There  were  several  people  in- 
side the  chapel  during  the  night  of  the  9th  of  February, 
which,  like  that  of  the  2 1  st  of  August,  was  also  very 
wet.  Hession  went  in  "  three  times  and  asked  them  to 
come  out  to  see  the  sights  outside  the  gable."  It  is  to 
be  remembered,  in  this  connection,  that  the  sacristy 
was  a  room  completely  shut  off  from  the  chapel  and 
behind  the  altar,  and  that  it  was  outside  the  wall  of  the 
sacristy  and  under  its  window  that  the  apparitions  were 
seen.  The  persons  in  the  chapel,  therefore,  would  know 
nothing  of  what  was  occurring  in  the  sacristy.  Young 
Hession  says  "  that  he  saw  the  vision  again  on  the 
evening  of  Thursday,  the  1 2th  February,  at  a  quarter 
past  eight."  He  adds  :  "  I  went  to  the  archdeacon,  met 
him  on  the  road,  and  spoke  to  him  about  what  I  had 
just  seen,  and  what  I  had  seen  on  Monday  night. 
Whilst  speaking  to  him  there  appeared  a  beautiful 
star,  which  illuminated  the  whole  place.  The  arch- 
deacon saw  it,  and  he  took  off  his  hat,  and  asked  me 
and  a  few  others  if  we  saw  the  light," 

I  should  think  they  did.  That  was  the  only  occa- 
sion on  which  the  archdeacon  appeared  soon  after  an 
apparition,  and  while  an  actual  tiashlight  was  visible. 

The  archdeacon,  in  his  interview  with  the  represen- 
tative of  the  London  Daily  Telegraph  on  the  ist  of 
March  1880,  feels  himself  constrained  to  return  to  his 
own  inexplicable  conduct   on   the  night  of  the  first 


THE   PRIEST'S  EXPLANATION  247 

apparition :  "  On  the  night  of  the  first  apparition  my 
housekeeper  asked  leave  to  visit  a  friend,  and  remained 
out  unusually  late."  This  does  not  tally  with  the  de- 
position of  the  housekeeper  herself,  who  says,  it  will 
be  remembered,  "  I  parted  from  the  company  or  gather- 
ing at  eight-and-a-half  o'clock.  I  went  to  the  priest's 
house  and  told  what  I  had  beheld  .  .  .  and  asked  him 
to  see  it."  Archdeacon  Cavanagh  in  his  statement 
to  the  Daily  Telegraph  reporter  continues,  "  While 
wondering  what  had  become  of  her,  she  made  her 
appearance  in  a  very  excited  state,  exclaiming,  '  Oh  ! 
your  Reverence,  the  wonderful  and  beautiful  sight ! 
The  Blessed  Virgin  has  appeared  up  at  the  chapel  with 
St.  Joseph  and  St.  John,  and  we  have  stood  looking 
at  them  this  long  time  !  Oh  !  the  wonderful  sight ! ' 
Inferring  that  the  vision  had  disappeared,  and  omit- 
ting to  question  my  housekeeper  on  that  point,  I  did 
not  go  up,  and  I  have  regretted  ever  since  that  I 
omitted  to  do  so."  How  could  he  have  inferred 
that  the  vision  had  disappeared,  when,  according  to 
the  housekeeper's  own  deposition,  she  had  asked  him 
to  go  out  and  see  it  ?  He  says  also  :  "  On  another 
occasion  a  messenger  was  sent  down  to  fetch  me.  I 
was  in  bed  after  a  fatiguing  day,  and,  having  a  prospect 
of  hard  work  on  the  morrow,  did  not  rise."  Such  con- 
duct is  absolutely  inexplicable,  assuming  that  Arch- 
deacon Cavanagh  believed  that  a  genuine  apparition 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin  was  in  progress,  and  believed  in 
the  credibility  of  the  witnesses  who  summoned  him 
to  behold  it,  and  upon  whose  testimony  he  afterwards 
asked  the  world  to  believe  not  only  in  the  reality  of 
an  apparition — which  nobody  doubts — but  also  in  its 
being  a  genuine  heavenly  visitation !  The  Daily  Tele- 
graph reporter  says,  "  Archdeacon  Cavanagh  is  reputed 
all  along  the  country-side  as  a  man  of  simple  piety, 


248  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

gentle  manners,  and  a  modest  and  retiring  disposition. 
This  is  justijfied  by  liis  appearance;  lie  at  once  makes 
a  favourable  impression,  and  is  about  the  last  man  in 
the  world  whom  a  stranger  would  look  upon  or  suspect 
of  anything  but  straightforward,  honest  conduct."  I 
shall  say  nothing  to  asperse  his  memory.  It  is  quite 
enough  to  state  the  bare  facts,  and  leave  my  readers 
to  draw  their  own  conclusions.  The  Daily  Tdegra'ph 
reporter  adds  that  Archdeacon  Cavanagh  "believes 
with  unquestioning  and  reverent  faith  "  in  the  "  visions 
and  miracles  "  which  occurred  at  his  chapel  in  Knock. 
I  say  nothing  as  to  whether  he  believed  in  these  things 
on  the  I  St  March  1 880,  or  not.  But  I  am  forced  to  the 
conclusion  that  he  did  not  believe  in  the  genuineness 
of  the  apparitions  at  the  time  that  they  were  occurring, 
and  when  he  was  summoned  to  witness  them ;  or  that 
he  did  not  believe  in  the  credibility  of  the  people  who 
summoned  him  ;  or,  finally,  that  he  had  some  weightier 
reason  still  for  not  participating  as  a  sightseer  on  those 
occasions.     Let  us  not  flog  a  dead  horse. 

A  lono-  list  of  miscellaneous  cures  effected  at  Knock 
is  given.  Let  us  quote  one  advanced  by  the  archdeacon 
himself,  for  widespread  circulation  in  England,  through 
the  splendid  medium  of  the  Daily  Telegraph : — 

"  Some  little  while  ago,  I  received  a  sick-call  late  at 
night  to  a  man  who  was  said  to  be  vomiting  blood,  and 
in  extreme  danger.  .  .  .  After  ministering  to  him,  I 
called  for  a  glass  of  water,  sprinkled  on  it  a  few  particles 
of  the  mortar  from  the  gable  walls  of  the  chapel,  and 
bade  him  drink.  He  did  so ;  at  once  he  began  to 
recover,  and  is  now  well." 

Here  we  find  Archdeacon  Cavanagh  lending  himself 
to  the  grossest  portion  of  this  superstition — conduct  for 
which  there  can  be  no  excuse !  Had  he  gone  out  to 
witness  the  apparition ;  had  he  there  and  then  publicly 


CURES  BY  MORTAR  349 

announced  his  belief  in  its  genuineness,  one  could  not 
doubt  his  lona-Jides.  But  it  is  deplorable  to  find  him, 
an  archdeacon  of  the  Catholic  Church,  even  in  Con- 
naught,  after  shirking  all  responsibility,  as  a  sight-seer 
or  eye-witness  of  the  apparition,  then,  immediately 
afterwards,  proceeding  to  utilise  the  mortar  of  the 
gable  end  of  his  chapel  as  a  money-making  commodity, 
capable  of  effecting  cures.  For  such  practices  I,  at  least, 
have  nothing  but  contempt  and  condemnation. 

Cases  of  blood  vomiting,  especially  in  the  young,  do 
not  generally  end  fatally.  I,  myself,  when  a  young 
man,  awoke  at  midnight  in  my  bed,  and  found  myself 
vomiting  blood.  I  was  excessively  frightened,  being  in 
lodgings  in  Dublin,  away  from  home  at  the  time.  But 
when  the  doctor  came,  he  explained  that  it  was  a  small 
vessel  in  the  throat  which  had  burst,  and  that  my  con- 
dition was  not  dangerous.  I  lost  such  a  quantity  of 
blood  at  the  time  that  my  bed  was  like  a  shambles,  yet 
I  recovered  without  the  use  of  any  "  Knock  mortar," 
although,  at  the  time,  the  Knock  mania  was  at  its  height 
in  Ireland.  It  is  unnecessary,  and  would  be  useless,  to 
reiterate  the  list  of  cures  said  to  have  been  etfected  at 
Knock.  Almost  any  of  the  widely  advertised  patent 
medicines  of  the  present  day  will  be  found  adducing  a 
list  of  miscellaneous  cures,  which  are  just  as  staggering, 
and  as  provable,  as  the  list  advanced  on  behalf  of 
Knock.  But  the  most  revolting  feature  of  those  luiock 
cures  is  this,  that  it  was  not  by  prayer  or  faith  that  they 
were  effected,  but  by  the  application  of  the  mortar. 
Archdeacon  Cavanagh  says,  for  instance,  '■  The  daughter 
of  R.  Walsh,  of  Clifden,  regained  sight  after  bathing  her 
eyes  in  water  containing  a  piece  of  plaster  from  the 
chapel  wall.  .  .  .  Owen  Halpen,  of  Drogheda,  troubled 
with  deafness,  placed  a  bit  of  mortar  in  his  ears,  and 
had  the  sense  fully  restored  to  him,"  and  so  on! 


250  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

The  multitudes  of  people  who  frequented  Knock 
during  1880  are  stated  by  Mr.  M'Philpin — the  preface 
to  the  first  edition  of  whose  pamphlet  is  dated  25  th 
March  1880 — to  have  been  "quite  as  numerous  as 
those  that  formed  the  monster  meetings,  which  for 
the  past  nine  months  have  been  held  in  the  counties  of 
Mayo,  Galway,  and  Sligo."  Thus  we  find  that  the  Land 
League,  which  was  being  enthusiastically  taken  up  by 
the  people  of  Connaught,  as  a  means  of  improving  their 
worldly  condition,  found  a  rival  in  this  wonder-working 
chapel  of  Knock,  also  in  the  same  province.  Hysterical, 
highly-strung  people  are  always  liable  to  be  cured 
of  long-standing  complaints  by  a  fit  of  exceptional 
emotion,  or  by  a  shock.  The  imagination  is  very  often 
more  potent  to  act  in  the  cases  of  such  people  than 
actual  curative  remedies.  Fancy  is  for  such  people 
more  real  than  the  hard  facts  amidst  which  they  live, 
but  the  significance  of  which  they  fail  to  grasp.  There- 
fore a  list  of  cures  wrought  upon  a  collection  of  nonde- 
script people,  and  alleged  to  have  been  effected  at 
Knock  or  anyivhere  else,  could  never  be  sufficient 
evidence  to  compel  one  to  believe  that  some  or  any  of 
the  inhabitants  of  what  is  commonly  known  as  Heaven, 
had  paid  a  special  visit  to  that  particular  place,  even 
though  the  most  incongruous  visions  of  figures  and 
lights  had  been  seen  by  the  peasants  and  children  on 
the  gable  of  the  parish  chapel.  The  Knock  incident  is 
mainly  important  as  showing  the  sort  of  people  that  the 
majority  of  the  Connaught  Catholics  are  at  bottom. 
The  apparition  is  largely  believed  in  to  the  present  day 
by  the  inhabitants  of  that  province,  and  it  is  doubtful 
if  any  of  the  thousands  of  actors  in  the  various  scenes 
which  I  have  depicted  as  occurring  in  Catholic  Con- 
naught, would  have  the  courage  to  openly  express  his 
disbelief  in  the  apparitions  or  miracles  at  Knock.     It 


MAYNOOTH  AND   KNOCK  251 

was  not  officially  commented  upon  by  the  bishops  in 
any  of  their  official  pronouncements  at  Maynooth. 
Their  own  proper  business  as  guardians  of  "  faith  and 
morals  "  is  the  one  thing  they  never  attend  to  when 
assembled  there.  The  presence  of  such  a  large  body  of 
members  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  Ireland,  probably 
made  the  Knock  business  risky  for  treatment  in  a 
pronunciaDiicnto.  But  though  the  incident  was  not 
taken  official  notice  of,  it  served  its  end  well,  and  it  was, 
and  still  is,  used  by  the  Irish  priests'  organisation 
wherever  they  think  it  not  injudicious  to  seek  its  aid, 
for  furthering  their  own  cause,  enhancing  their  o^vn 
power,  and  increasing  their  own  revenues. 

Connaught  was  a  fitting  place  indeed  for  such  an 
apparition,  and  the  time  selected  was  most  oppor- 
tune. It  will  be  interesting  to  observe  what  part 
such  incidents  as  the  apparition  at  Knock  are  destined 
to  play  in  the  educational  manage  of  a  new  Catholic 
university  under  priests'  management,  should  such  a 
retrograde  institution  ever  be  established  by  the  British 
Government  in  Ireland. 

The  Catholic  Irish  abroad  and  in  the  Colonies  were 
especially  encouraged  to  believe  in  the  Knock  appari- 
tion. In  the  preface  to  the  second  edition  of  his 
pamphlet,  dated  15th  August  1894,  Mr.  M'Philpin 
tells  us  that — 

"Some  years  ago,  the  Most  Rev.  Dr.  Lynch,  Arch- 
bishop of  Toronto,  in  thanksgiving  for  a  singular  cure 
obtained  through  the  intercession  of  Our  Lady  of 
Knock,  presented  to  Archdeacon  Cavanagh  a  beautiful 
banner,  on  which  was  inscribed  in  letters  of  gold,  on  a 
ground  of  emerald  green  satin,  '  Toronto  is  grateful.' " 
We  are  also  informed  that  "  Dr.  Murphy,  of  Hobart, 
Tasmania,  a  venerable  octogenarian  prelate,  left  his  far- 
distant  diocese  for  Knock,  suffering  from  impaired 
vision,  that  baffled   the   skill  of  the   most   celebrated 


252  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

opticians.  After  a  visit  to  Our  Lady's  Shrine,  in  the 
west  of  Ireland,  the  eyes  that  then  knew  but  darkness 
saw  the  light,  independent  of  opticians'  aid,  and  the 
wonderful  change  the  archbishop  naturally  attributes 
to  the  intercession  of  Our  Lady  of  Knock.  As  a  token 
of  his  gratitude,  he  has  sent  a  beautiful  painting  in  oil, 
more  than  nine  feet  in  length,  and  over  seven  feet  in 
width,  reproducing  from  the  most  authentic  sources  the 
original  apparition." 

Such  reprehensible  practices  are  not  confined  to 
Knock.  The  Dominicans  are  found  recommending  the 
oil  of  the  lamp  which  burns  perpetually  before  the 
statue  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  in  their  church  in  Limerick 
as  "  marvellous  in  its  efiicacy  in  restoring  the  sick  and 
relieving  pain."  In  June  1901  they  published  in  their 
monthly  magazine.  The  Rosary,  an  article  entitled  "  Our 
Lady  of  Limerick,"  in  which  the  following  occurs : — 

"  A  short  time  ago  a  young  woman  came  to  the 
church  in  great  distress  over  her  child,  who  was  on  the 
point  of  death.  She  had  employed  all  the  natural 
means  she  could  for  its  restoration,  and  the  doctors  had 
given  up  the  case  as  hopeless.  As  a  last  resource  she 
betook  herself  to  the  shrine  of  Our  Lady  of  Limerick, 
procured  a  little  of  the  oil  that  burned  before  tJce  statue, 
and  applied  it  to  the  forehead  and  chest  of  her  dying 
child,  invoking  the  intercession  of  Our  Lady,  and,  to  her 
great  joy,  the  child  recovered  almost  instantaneously. 
The  medical  attendant  declared  that  nothing  less  than 
a  miracle  could  have  brought  about  such  a  sudden  and 
wonderful  change." 

In  many  other  parts  of  Ireland  also,  in  recent  years, 
the  local  priests  have  alleged  that  apparitions  took 
place,  and  have  basely  stimulated  a  belief  in  them 
amongst  the  credulous  and  poor. 


CHAPTER    XIV 

IN    CONNAUGHT   {concluclecl) 

As  a  further  example  of  how  omnipresent  is  the 
working  of  religion-business  in  Connaiight,  we  find 
the  Tuam  Board  of  Guardians, 

"in  meeting  assembled,  having  noticed  the  Great 
Southern  and  Western  Railway  Company  giving  pre- 
ference to  Protestants  before  Roman  Catholics,"  con- 
demning "  the  action  of  the  company  as  intolerable 
bigotry,"  and  stating  that  they  are  "  strongly  of  opinion 
that  the  Catholic  merchants,  shopkeepers,  and  traders 
should  take  united  action  to  resent  this  insult  to  our 
holy  religion  by  discontinuing  their  support  to  such  a 
bigoted  company,"  ^ 

The  Great  Southern  and  Western  Railway  Company's 
system,  by  absorption  of  a  smaller  line,  has  been  just 
extended  into  the  archiepiscopal  town  of  Tuam ;  and 
this  is  one  of  the  first  fruits  of  the  enterprise  in  Con- 
naucjht.  The  denunciation  was  re-echoed  in  a  sinsfle 
day  at  Killarney,  Birr,  and  Celbridge  Unions,  in  com- 
pliance with  the  request  of  the  Tuam  Board ;  and  thus 
onwards  it  will  run  its  course  through  the  public  boards 
of  Roman  Catholic  Ireland  ! 

We  find  Connaught  bishops  and  priests  taking  pos- 
session of  the  Technical  Instruction  Committees  en- 
dowed by  the  Act  of  1 899,  and  subsidised  partly  out  of 
local  rates.  The  appointments  under  these  committees 
constitute  a  new  field  of  patronage  for  the  priests,  and  the 

'  Prteman's  Journal,  February  7,  1902. 
aS3 


254  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

posts  will  be  manned  by  persons  who  will  be  as  much 
the  servants  of  the  clergy  as  the  national  teachers  are. 
In  Galway  town  we  find,  at  a  casual  meeting  of  the 
Technical  Instruction  Committee,  Bishop  M'Cormack 
in  the  chair,  and  amongst  the  members  present  the 
"Very  Rev.  P.  Canon  Lynsky,  P.P.,  V.F. ;  Very  Rev.  P.  J. 
Lally,  P.P. ;  Rev.  J.  Corcoran,  P.P. ;  Rev.  J.  M'Dermot, 
admiuistrator ;  and  the  Rev.  J.  O'Donovan,  C.C."  ^ 
Important  monetary  matters  came  before  the  meeting  : 
a  proposed  expenditure  of  ^2000  on  a  new  school  at 
Gort;  the  appointment  of  a  teacher  of  domestic  economy 
at  £So  per  annum;  the  appointment  of  an  itinerant 
instructress  of  Irish  crochet  at  £$2  per  annum;  and 
other  things.  The  laymen  present  number  seven,  but 
are  they  likely  to  succeed,  even  if  they  try,  in  carrying 
anything  against  such  an  array  of  clerical  force  ? 

The  subservience  of  the  national  teachers  to  the 
priests  is  particularly  striking  in  Connaught.  One 
finds,  for  instance,  over  a  hundred  Irish  national 
teachers  assembled  in  meeting  at  the  Court-house, 
Sligo,  the  mayor  of  the  town.  Alderman  E.  Foley, 
being  in  the  chair.  Eight  resolutions  are  passed,^  and 
then  a  ninth  resolution  is  added  requesting  "  the 
bishops  to  receive  and  hear  deputations  on  the  matters 
dealt  with  in  the  previous  eight  resolutions  "  ! 

And  we  find  the  Galway  national  teachers  issuing  the 
following  appeal  by  advertisement  in  the  public  Press 
on  behalf  of  the  Augustinian  Church  in  Galway — an 
exhibition,  probably  unparalleled  outside  Connaught, 
of  State-paid  civil  servants  publicly  begging  for  the 
priests  of  the  Order  of  Saint  Augustine  !  It  is  headed, 
"  An  Urgent  Appeal  to  the  Teachers  of  Ireland,"  and 
thus  proceeds: — 

'  Freeman't  Journal,  Jan.  28,  1902.       Independent,  Jan.  6,  1902. 


THE  GALWAY  AUGUSTINIANS  255 

"  The  poverty  of  the  Fathers  renders  them  helpless. 
They,  therefore,  turn  hopefully,  confidently,  earnestly, 
beseechingly  to  a  charitable  public.  We,  at  their  re- 
quest, have  decided  to  make  a  special  cqopeal  to  the 
Irish  National  Teachers,  a  body  for  whom  the  good 
Fathers  have  the  greatest  respect.  We  feel  assured 
that  the  response  will  be  worthy  of  the  Teachers  of 
Ireland,  and  worthy  of  the  confidence  the  Fathers  re- 
pose in  them.  Signed  on  behalf  of  the  members  of 
the  Gal  way  and  Galway  Central  Teachers'  Association."^ 

"  The  great  bazaar  "  in  aid  of  this  Galway  Augus- 
tinian  Church  was  opened  under  the  presidency  of 
Bishop  M'Cormack : — 

"It  was  a  noble  lady,  the  pious  wife  of  a  member 
of  one  of  the  Tribes,  Mrs.  Margaret  Athy,  that  built  the 
first  monastery  for  the  Augustinians  in  Galway,"  said 
Bishop  M'Cormack.  "  It  appears  that  her  husband  had 
been  away,  and  on  his  return,  on  entering  the  bay,  he 
beheld  a  larire  buildins^  which  was  not  there  when  he 
had  left.  On  inquiring  he  was  told  it  was  an  Augus- 
tinian  monastery,  and  it  was  his  own  wife  who  built  it, 
when  he  threw  himself  on  his  knees  and  thanked  God 
he  had  such  a  good  wife."  The  bishop  "  hoped  the 
ladies  who  were  to  assist  at  the  bazaar  would  inherit 
this  lady's  noble  example."  - 

When  I  consider  what  a  lamentable  sight  that  de- 
caying town  of  Galway  presents,  how  fallen  and  still 
falling  it  is,  and  when  I  remember  how  the  new  cut- 
stone  churches  and  parochial  houses  of  the  priests  and 
convents  of  the  nuns  stand  side  by  side  therein,  with 
the  ruined  and  damp-greened  houses  of  the  people,  I 
cannot  help  feeling  a  degenerate  pleasure  at  reading 
that  a  "heavy  downpour  of  rain  lasted  all  Monday 
night,  and  gave  a  depressing  aspect  to  the  gay  saloons 
and  walls  "  of  this  bazaar. 

^  Irish  Catholic,  April  13,  1901.  -  Freeman  s  Journal,  Aug.  12,  1901. 


256  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

Wherever  an  order  of  nuns  is  admitted  to  the  posi- 
tion of  paid  nurses  in  a  Union  hospital,  or  wherever 
a  body  of  religious  is  admitted  into  any  public  insti- 
tution on  salary,  they  are  not  contented  with  acting  the 
part  of  State  servants,  but  they  must  make  themselves 
masters  of  the  institution,  and  have  its  regulations 
changed  to  suit  their  convenience.  A  few  years  since, 
the  Sligo  Board  of  Guardians  admitted  the  Sisters  of 
Mercy  into  their  Workhouse  hospital,  and  now,  at  their 
request,  the  "  Workhouse "  hospital  has  been  con- 
verted into  a  "  District "  hospital.  The  object  is  thus 
stated : — 

"  For  a  few  years  past  a  convent  has  been  established 
in  connection  with  the  institution  (the  Workhouse), 
and  the  Guardians  have  been  very  liberal  in  expending 
money  on  much-needed  improvements.  Many  of  the 
friends  of  the  sick  refuse  to  have  them  brought  to  the 
'  Workhouse '  hospital.  Now  it  will  be  a  '  District ' 
hospital,  and  it  will  be  availed  of  by  such  people  who 
are  willing  to  pay."  ^ 

In  a  word,  the  Sligo  Workhouse  Hospital,  established 
under  the  Poor  Law  for  the  relief  of  the  sick  poor, 
has,  while  remaining  attached  to  the  Sligo  Workhouse, 
been  changed  into  a  profit-making  concern,  in  which 
the  nuns  can  receive  papng  patients. 

In  the  town  of  Sligo  there  is  a  female  industrial 
school,  containing  1 49  inmates — vagrant,  destitute  chil- 
dren. The  total  cost  of  "  maintenance  and  manage- 
ment "  of  this  school,  which  belongs  to  the  Sisters  of 
Mercy,  was  ^€^30 5  7  for  the  year  1900;  the  net  cost  for 
each  child  being  ;^20,  3s.  5d.  per  annum. 

Must  there  not  be  a  profit  in  this  for  the  clerical 
organisation,  when  such  children  can  be  maintained 
for  less  than  £g  in  Wexford  Workhouse  ? 

'  Freeman's  Journal,  March  10,  1902. 


THE  PRIEST  IN   SLIGO  257 

The  county  of  Sligo  is,  on  the  whole,  the  least  back- 
ward of  the  Connaught  counties.  Its  population  in 
1 90 1  was  84,083,  having  decreased  from  94, 4 1 6  in  1 8  9 1 , 
and  from  107,479  in  1881  ;  that  is  to  say,  since  the 
passage  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  Land  Act,  the  establishment 
of  endowed  intermediate  education  and  the  foundation 
of  the  Royal  University,  the  population  of  Sligo  has 
decreased  by  nearly  2  5  per  cent.  Does  not  that  seem  to 
show  that  our  legislative  reformers  are  not  yet  on  the 
right  road?  Out  of  the  84,083  inhabitants  of  county 
Sligo,  76,146  are  Roman  Catholics,  or  over  90  per  cent. 
The  illiterates  number  24  per  cent.,  or  nearly  i  in  4, 
but  those  m  receipt  of  poor-law  relief  only  number  i  in 
56  of  the  population.  The  total  acreage  of  Sligo  is 
440,541  statute  acres  ;  and  of  this  the  high  proportion 
of  3  1 2,644  acres  are  arable,  the  rest  being  workable  turf, 
bog,  and  marsh.  Bishop  Clancy's  establishment  in  the 
county  consists  of  66  priests,  7  monks,  i  (?)  theological 
student,^  144  male  Catholic  teachers,  140  nuns,  167 
female  Catholic  teachers,  besides  which  there  are  i  5  3 
girls  in  the  Sligo  "  Industrial "  School,  conducted  by 
the  Sisters  of  Mercy;  total,  678  persons.  The  imperial 
and  local  Government  establishments  consist  of  47  male 
civil  servant  officers  and  clerks,  227  police,  53  male 
municipal,  parish,  union,  district,  and  other  local  and 
county  officials,  4 1  female  civil  servants,  and  i  5  female 
municipal  officers;  total,  383  persons,  not  much  over 
half  the  Roman  Catholic  clerical  establishment.  While 
there  are  1 40  nuns,  there  are  only  8  midwives  to  attend 
to  the  10,762  wives  in  the  county  of  Sligo.  There 
are  49  solicitors,  doctors,  and  engineers,  or  about  one- 
fourteenth  of  the  clerical  army.  The  strength  of  the 
king's  army  in  Sligo  in  1901  was  only  jj  officers 
and  men,  elective  and  retired,  or  about  one-ninth  of 
I  "Census  of  Ireland,"  1901. 


258  MIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

the  sacerdotal  army.  The  number  of  children  at  the 
National  Schools  was  10,944,  Avhose  destinies  are 
entirely  in  the  hands  of  Bishop  Clancy  and  his  sub- 
ordinates. There  were  35  Protestant  boys  receiving  a 
superior  education  in  the  county  in  1901.  The  pro- 
portionate number  of  Catholic  boys  should  be  at  least 
300;  but  it  is  only  109,  and  of  that  number  107  are 
at  the  ecclesiastical  school,  called  the  College  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception,  at  Sligo,  and  the  bulk  of 
them  are  destined  for  the  priesthood.  The  number  of 
Catholic  girls  returned  as  receiving  a  "  superior  "  educa- 
tion is  1 1 3  ;  while,  as  we  have  seen,  the  number  of  nuns 
in  the  county  is  140  ;  and  we  may  be  sure  the  greater 
proportion  of  these  i  1 3  girls  will  themselves  find  their 
way  into  convents.  The  emigration  from  Sligo,  under 
such  a  regime,  is  on  a  large  scale :  14,065  in  the  decade 
ended  1901,  or  1406  per  annum;  and  23,594  in  the 
decade  ended  i  8  9 1 ,  or  2359  per  annum.  In  1 90 1  there 
were  only  'j'j  people  in  the  county  speaking  Irish  only, 
as  against  147  in  189 1 ;  and  only  17,493  speaking  Irish 
and  English,  as  against  21,189  persons  who,  in  1891, 
were  engaged  in  "tracing  contrasts,  analogies  and 
similitudes  "  between  the  two  languages.  But  Bishop 
Clancy  and  Monsignor  M'Loughlin  may  be  relied  upon 
to  alter  that  state  of  things  during  the  next  decade. 

Let  me  exemplify  how  rich  Connaught  clerics  who 
expend  vast  fortunes  on  building,  and  exercise  Govern- 
ment patronage,  follow  the  escaped  Connaughtman  to 
Great  Britain. 

We  find  "  the  annual  reunion  of  the  natives  of  Con- 
naught  and  their  friends  resident  in  GlasgOAv  and  the 
west  of  Scotland,  held  in  Glasgow,  on  Friday,  7th 
February  1902,^  when  the  Right  Rev.  Monsignor 
M'Loughlin,  P.P.,  V.G.,  Roscommon,  took  the  chair." 

1  Irish  Daily  Independent,  February  8,  1902. 


CONN  AUGHT  IN  GLASGOW  259 

He  is  reported  as  having  said  that :  "  The  block-house 
system  and  the  concentration  camps  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  Boer  women  and  children  to-day  had  been  in 
operation  against  their  forefathers  in  Ireland  two  hun- 
dred and  fiity  years  ago,  and  it  was  a  proof,  if  one  were 
required,  that  the  Irish  people,  after  the  oppression  they 
had  undergone,  were  the  chosen  people  of  God  "  (cheers). 

When  the  Irishman,  to  better  himself,  goes  abroad, 
he  is  followed  even  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  by  his 
native  ministers  of  religion,  like  so  many  Old  Men  of  the 
Sea;  and  they  never  seek  him  out  for  any  object  but  to 
appeal  for  money.  The  "  fertile  and  cultured  "  mon- 
signor  is  credited  with  a  description  of  Connaught, 
calculated  to  melt  the  hearts  of  the  Irishmen  of  Glas- 
gow :  "  Fifty  years  ago  there  were  5  2  paupers  in 
every  1000  of  the  population;  to-day  there  were  95 
in  every  1 000 ;  while  in  the  case  of  England  the 
figures  were  49  fifty  years  ago,  and  to-day  26  in  1000." 
I  cannot  verify  those  figures.  There  were  485,896 
grants  of  relief  under  poor  law,  in  1900,  in  Ireland, 
which  is  considerably  more  than  one-tenth  of  the 
population,  or  over  100  persons  m  1000.  But  if 
Monsignor  M'Loughlin  persists  in  his  policy  of 
squandering  money  on  Venetian  mosaics,  in  fifty 
years  from  this  date  the  number  of  Connaught  paupers 
may  have  increased  to  any  number  up  to  200  per 
1000.  He  is  reported  as  thus  describing  Ros- 
common, where  he  is  building  his  new  and  costly 
church  and  presbytery :  "  The  county  of  Roscom- 
mon, from  which  he  came,  was,  in  fact,  a  wilder- 
ness. The  towns  were  falling  into  a  state  of  decay. 
The  people  were  being  driven  into  pauperism  through 
the  sheer  want  of  industries  in  the  country,  and  all 
the  best  land  of  the  country  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
graziers."      Those  well-to-do  graziers,  though  for  the 


260  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

most  part  Catholics,  are  not  such  lucrative  parishioners 
for  the  monsignors  as  poor,  struggling,  apparition- 
believing  cottiers.  Those  canny  graziers  utilise  the 
good  land  of  Roscommon  for  rearing  and  fattening 
cattle  for  the  English  market;  and  they  succeed  in 
doing  a  large  portion  of  the  prime  beef  and  mutton 
trade  of  Ireland  with  England. 

Bishop  Healy  of  Clonfert,  one  of  the  six  Connaught 
bishops  who  has  been  appointed  a  member  of  the 
Royal  Commission  on  University  Education,  to  advise 
the  lord-lieutenant,  is  reported  as  thus  describing  the 
splendid  position  occupied  by  our  fellow- Catholics  in 
Connaught  as  contrasted  with  other  places  which  have 
lost  the  heritage  of  the  Faith ! — 

"  We  know  how  in  England  and  Scotland  and  Den- 
mark, in  Holland  and  in  Asia  Minor,  that  precious 
heritage  was  lost  or  taken  from  the  people,  while  the 
work  of  St.  Patrick  abided  in  face  of  difficulties  that 
almost  seemed  insurmountable.  All  that  power  and 
wealth  and  diabolical  ingenuity  could  suggest  was  tried 
to  root  out  the  Catholic  faith  in  Ireland,  but  in  vain. 
Without  the  grace  of  God,  and  the  powerful  prayers  of 
our  saint,  how  could  our  poor,  downtrodden  people  have 
ever  withstood  the  persistent  storm  of  persecution  that 
swept  over  the  land  ?  We  are  told  in  our  saint's  life — 
and  to  the  worldly-minded  it  may  at  first  sight  seem 
absurd — that  he  was  so  anxious  about  his  poor  people 
that  Ite  left  a  man  on  each  of  the  commandiny  hill-tops 
of  Erin  to  gaard  the  niirrounding  country  in  the  faith 
that  he  had  planted.  There  is  a  watcher  on  the  top  of 
Croagh  Patrick,  and  another  on  Ben  Bulben,  in  the 
county  Sligo ;  another  on  Sliabh  Beach ;  a  fourth  on 
Slieve  Donard,  to  guard  the  north  and  east  of  Ireland ; 
and  a  fifth  on  a  hill  near  Clonard.  All  this  seems 
strange.  But  it  has  its  meaning,  and  is  true.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  God  has  His  angels  on  many 
a  mountain  summit  in  the  world  watching  over  the 


ST.   PATRICK'S  WATCHMEN  261 

people,  ever  comforting  them,  and  enabling  them  to 
overcome  their  enemies ;  and  where  are  those  guardian 
angels  needed  more  than  in  this  unhappy  land,  where 
our  holy  faith  has  been  so  ruthlessly  persecuted  ? "  ^ 

The  following  occurrence  could  have  been  distinctly 
seen  across  Clew  Bay  by  St.  Patrick's  watchman  on 
Croagh  Patrick  Mountain : — 

"At  the  Castlebar  Assizes,  before  Judge  Andrews, 
John  M.  was  charged  with  causing  grievous  bodily 
harm  to  Mr.  John  M'Hale,  Newport,  President,  West 
Mayo  Executive,  on  Christmas  Day  last,  by  biting  off 
his  nose,  and  causing  him  other  injury  of  a  serious 
nature.  The  case  excited  a  great  deal  of  interest,  and 
the  court  was  crowded  to  its  fullest  extent.  Mr.  John 
M'Hale  deposed  to  meeting  prisoner  on  Christmas  Day 
on  Graffy  Mountain.  Witness  was  accompanied  by 
three  others.  M.  took  a  gun  from  his  nephew.  Wit- 
ness and  prisoner  struggled,  and  the  result  was  that 
prisoner  bit  the  nose  off  him.  Drs.  Knott  and  O'Rourke 
were  examined  in  support  of  the  prosecution.  Prisoner's 
brother  and  a  police  sergeant  were  examined  for  the 
defence.  The  judge  having  summed  up,  the  jury  stated 
that  there  was  not  a  possibility  of  their  agreeing."  - 

The  District  Lunatic  Asylum  at  Ballinasloe,  where 
Bishop  Healy  resides,  ought  to  be  deeply  imbued  with 
Bishop  Healy 's  philosophy.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Management 

"  it  was  unanimously  resolved  that  we  do  censure  and 
condemn  in  the  strongest  terms  the  action  of  the  Inter- 
mediate Education  Board  in  appointing  a  German  to 
examine  students  in  the  Gaelic  language.  It  is,  in  our 
opinion,  an  impeachment  of  the  integrity  and  intelli- 
gence of  Irishmen  to  examine  students  in  their  own 
language,  and  is  a  deliberate  insult  to  the  Irish  people, 
as  well  as   acting  most  arbitrary  on  the  part  of  the 

'  Freeman's  Journal,  March  19,  1902.  ^  Ibid. 


262  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

Intermediate  Education  Board,  besides  being,  to  our 
mind,  a  most  unnatural  proceeding  to  get  a  foreigner 
to  examine  students  in  their  native  language,  and  we 
believe  that  such  an  examiner  is  entirely  unable  to 
pronounce  Irish  words  the  same  way  in  which  an  expert 
m  the  Gaelic  language  would."  ^ 

The  population  of  the  province  of  Connaught,  which 
has  decreased  from  846,213  in  1871  to  649,635  in 
1 90 1,  does  not  equal  that  of  the  city  of  Glasgow;  yet 
mark  the  numbers  and  variet}''  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
religious  establishment  which  it  supports,  and  which  is 
supposed  to  be  actively  engaged  in  guarding  its  faith 
and  morals.  And  when  you  have  noted  it,  ask  yourself 
if  the  deplorable  condition  of  Connaught  is  not  a  stand- 
ing disgrace  to  the  vast  army  of  priests  and  nuns  who 
fatten  upon  the  decaying  province.  I  am  convinced 
that,  so  far  from  improving  the  condition  of  the  people, 
the  immense  clerical  organisation  is  the  primary  cause 
of  the  people's  ignorance  and  misery ;  and  that  if  the 
religious  were  removed  from  unhappy  Connaught  the 
province  would  at  once  begin  to  advance  without  any 
further  ameliorative  measures  whatever. 

There  are  first  the  hierarchy ;  the  Archbishop  of 
Tuam  and  the  five  bishops  of  Elphin,  Achonry,  Killala, 
Gal  way,  and  Clonfert.  In  Tuam  there  are  44  parish 
priests,  9  administrators,  and  6  5  curates ;  total,  1 1 8 
secular  priests.  In  Achonry  there  are  20  parish 
priests,  2  administrators,  and  27  curates;  total,  49 
secular  priests.  In  Killala  there  are  1 9  parish  priests, 
4  administrators,  and  16  curates;  total,  39  secular 
priests.  In  Gal  way  there  are  28  parish  priests,  2 
administrators,  and  2 1  curates ;  total,  5 1  secular 
priests.  In  Clonfert  there  are  21  parish  priests, 
3    administrators,   and    19   curates;  total,   43    secular 

1  Freeman's  Journal,  March  ii;02. 


CONNAUGHT  PRIESTS   AND  NUNS      263 

priests.  In  Elphin  there  are  32  parish  priests,  2 
administrators,  and  ^7  curates;  total,  loi  secular 
priests.  The  number  of  secular  priests  in  the  province, 
including  county  Leitrim  in  Ardagh  diocese,  is  449. 
If  that  were  all  there  would  not  be  much  to  cavil  at, 
although  the  condition  of  the  province  would  still  be 
a  disgrace  and  reproach  to  the  455  miracle-working 
bishops  and  priests  entrusted  by  divine  wisdom  with 
the  guidance  of  the  people. 

But,  in  addition,  the  diocese  of  Tuam  contains  an 
Augustinian  Friary  at  Ballyhaunis,  the  number  of  whose 
inmates  is  not  given ;  and  eleven  monasteries  of  the 
Third  Order  Regular  of  St.  Francis  at  Annadown,  Achill, 
Clifden,  Brooklodge,  Cummer,  Errcw,  Kilkerin,  Kiltulla, 
Mountbellew,  Fartry ,  and  Roundstone.  There  are  various 
orders  of  Christian  Brothers  in  the  diocese ;  at  Tuam, 
Westport,  Ballinrobe,  Letterfrack,  and  Castlebar.  All 
those  men  are  engaged  in  teaching.  They  make  their 
living  by  it.  and  the  education  the}^  give  is  a  religious 
one  before  everything  else.  Is  the  condition  of  the 
coimtry  a  credit  to  them  and  to  their  masters,  the 
archbishop  and  his  priests  ?  There  is  a  Presentation 
Convent  of  Nuns  at  Tuam.  There  are  convents  of  the 
Sisters  of  Mercy  at  Tuam,  Westport,  Newport,  Bally- 
haunis, Ballinrobe,  Castlebar,  Claremorris,  Clifden,  and 
Rusheen,  and  they  are  all  engaged  in  teaching,  drawing 
endowments  from  the  National  Board,  and,  in  many 
cases,  from  the  Agricultural  and  Technical  Instruction 
Department,  and  even  from  the  Congested  Districts 
Board.  There  is  a  priests'  diocesan  college,  St.  Jar- 
lath's,  at  Tuam,  in  which  the  sacerdotal  organisation 
monopolises  whatever  "  superior"  education  is  given  in 
the  diocese.  There  are  two  female  "  industrial  "  schools 
in  the  diocese  worked  by  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  namely, 
Westport  and  Clifden,  drawing  £17  2 a^,  3s.   iid.  per 


264  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

annum  for  the  maintenance  of  1 9 1  vagrant  little  girls, 
being  about  ;^20  per  head  per  annum.  There  is  a  male 
"  industrial "  school  worked  by  the  Christian  Brothers 
at  Letterfrack,  in  which  there  are  148  destitute  little 
boys  maintained  at  an  annual  cost  of  ^^2669,  i  5s.  lod. — 
the  total  in  this  diocese  for  "  industrial "  schools  being 
;^6393,  19s.  9d.  In  the  diocese  of  Achonry,  the  Sisters 
of  Charity  have  three  convents  at  Beuada,  Ballagha- 
dereen  and  Foxford.  The  Sisters  of  Mercy  have  a 
convent  at  Swineford,  and  the  Sisters  of  St.  Louis  have 
a  convent  at  Kiltimagh.  The  Sisters  of  Charity  have 
"industrial"  schools  at  Ballaghadereen  and  Benada,  in 
which  there  are  1 1 1  little  girls  supported  by  the  State 
at  a  yearly  cost  of  ;^2  299, 1 4s.  5d.,  being  about  £2  2,  i  os. 
per  annum  for  each  little  girl.  There  is  a  priests' 
college  at  Ballaghadereen  and  a  clerical  school  at 
Swineford  in  which  the  priests  monopolise  whatever 
"  superior  "  education  there  is  in  the  diocese  ;  and  the 
Christian  Brothers  have  a  school  also  at  Ballaghadereen. 
In  the  diocese  of  Clonfert  we  find  the  Discalced  Car- 
melites established  at  Loughrea,  and  the  Redemp- 
torists  at  Esker  near  Athenry.  There  are  five  convents 
of  Sisters  of  Mercy,  namely,  Loughrea,  Ballinasloe, 
Portumna,  Woodfort,  and  Eyrecourt ;  and  a  convent  of 
Carmelite  nuns  at  Loughrea  "  living  up  to  the  primi- 
tive rule."  In  this  diocese,  too,  whatever  there  is  of 
"  superior "  education  is  monopolised  by  St.  Joseph's 
College  at  Ballinasloe  and  St.  Brendan's  School  at 
Loughrea.  In  the  diocese  of  Elphin  the  priests  of  the 
Dominican  Order  are  established  at  Sligo.  There  are 
eight  convents  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  namely,  Sligo, 
Castlerea,  two  at  Athlone,  Roscommon,  Elphin,  Boyle, 
and  Strokestown ;  and  there  is  an  Ursuline  Convent  at 
Sligo.  The  Marist  Brothers  are  in  Sligo,  the  Presenta- 
tion Brothers  at  Boyle,  and  the  Franciscan  Brothers  at 


THE  PRIEST   IN  GALWAY  265 

Farragher.  There  are  three  female  "industrial"  schools 
managed  by  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  at  Athlone,  Sligo,  and 
Roscommon,  in  which  379  vagrant  girls  are  main- 
tained at  a  cost  of  ;^7o68,  i6s.  8d.  per  annum  to  the 
State.  There  is  a  priests'  diocesan  college  in  Sligo, 
which  takes  off  whatever  "  superior "  education  busi- 
ness there  is  in  the  diocese.  In  the  diocese  of  Galway 
we  find  the  four  Orders  of  Franciscans,  Dominicans, 
Augustinians,  and  Jesuits,  all  settled  in  the  unlucky 
town  of  Galway.  What  the  force  of  priests  is  in  these 
four  establishments  I  do  not  know,  but  twenty-one 
ordained  regular  priests  are  given  in  the  directories. 
There  are  Presentation  Convents  of  Nuns  at  Galway 
and  Oranmore ;  Sisters  of  Charity  at  Clarenbridge ; 
Sisters  of  Mercy  at  Oughterard  and  Gort ;  Poor  Clares 
at  Galway;  a  Dominican  Convent  of  Jesus  and  Mary 
at  Galway ;  and  three  settlements  of  the  Sisters  of 
Mercy  in  Galway,  namely,  in  their  convent,  in  the 
Magdalen  Asylum  (!)  and  m  the  Workhouse  Hospital. 
The  Christian  Brothers  have  an  "  industrial"  school  at 
Salthill,  in  which  there  are  200  boys  at  a  cost  of 
;^3  585,  9s.  8d.  per  annum,  and  there  is  St.  Anne's 
Female  "  Industrial "  School  in  which  8 1  little  girls 
are  maintained  at  the  yearly  cost  of  ^^1530,  15s.  3d., 
or  about  ;^20  per  head. 

I  ask  the  reader  to  picture  to  himself  the  condition 
of  this  town  of  Galway,  and  realise  from  it  how  the 
priest  and  nun  can  fatten  on  the  decay  of  the  people. 
In  185  I  the  population  of  the  town  was  23,787,  and 
from  that  day  to  this  it  has  been  falling  as  follows : 
1861,  16,967;  1871,  15,596;  1881,  15,417;  1891, 
13,800;  and  in  1901,  13,426.  Its  trade  has  been 
falling  at  even  a  greater  pace  than  its  population ;  and, 
but  for  the  churches  and  convents  and  Persse's  distil- 
lery, it  is  a  town  of  ruins  and  vacancy.     During  the 


266  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

fifty  years  since  1 8  5  i  the  priests  and  nuns  have  been 
multiplying;  and  this  poor  but  historic  town,  which 
now  contains  only  thirteen  thousand  odd  people,  at  the 
opening  of  the  twentieth  century,  possesses  a  bishop 
and  nine  secular  priests,  as  well  as  four  houses  of 
Regular  Orders — Franciscans,  Augustinians,  Domini- 
cans and  Jesuits,  with  twenty-one  admitted  priests. 
It  contains  three  establishments  of  the  Sisters  of 
Mercy,  one  of  the  Presentation  Nuns,  one  of  the 
Poor  Clares,  and  one  of  the  Dominican  Nuns.  It 
possesses  a  community  of  the  Patrician  Brothers, 
and  the  male  and  female  "  industrial "  schools  men- 
tioned. It  also  contains  a  priests'  diocesan  college, 
and  last  and  most  significant  in  a  town  of  thirteen 
thousand  inhabitants,  a  Magdalen  Asylum  ! 

There  is  a  State-endowed,  non-sectarian  Queen's 
College  in  Galway,  fully  equipped  for  giving  the  best 
possible  instruction ;  containing  chairs  of  Greek  ;  Latin; 
Mathematics ;  Natural  Philosophy  ;  History,  English 
Literature,  and  Mental  Science ;  Modern  Languages ; 
Chemistry;  Natural  History ;  Mineralogy  and  Geology; 
Civil  Engineering  ;  Anatomy  and  Physiology  ;  Practice 
of  Medicine ;  Practice  of  Surgery ;  Materia  Medica ; 
Midwifery ;  English  Law,  Jurisprudence  and  Political 
Economy ;  all  filled  by  men  of  the  highest  qualifica- 
tions. This  splendidly  equipped  institution  was  only 
attended  in  1 900-1 901  by  97  students,  of  whom  59 
were  Protestants  of  various  denominations,  and  only  38 
were  Catholics.  All  honour  and  credit  be  to  those  38 
Catholic  students  and  their  parents.  They  are  better 
men  for  the  State  than  all  the  students  at  the  priests' 
colleges  in  Connaught  put  together.  This  fine  college, 
supported  by  the  State,  has  been  boycotted  by  the  army 
of  Connaught  priests,  and  its  prizes  are  mostly  carried 
off  by  young  Episcopalians  and  Presbyterians  from  Ulster 


NEITHER  SENSE  NOR   MIRTH  267 

who  come  down  to  take  advantage  of  its  opportunities, 
while  the  young  Galway  Catholics,  unable  to  realise 
their  own  capabilities,  keep  flying  off  to  America  to 
escape  from  the  black,  chilling  shadow  of  the  sacerdotal 
brigade  who,  like  a  swarm  of  carrion  crows,  are  settled 
amongst  the  ruins  of  the  dying  town.  There  is  little 
sense  and  no  mirth  in  Galway  to-day,  either  for  the 
resident  or  the  thoughtful  visitor ;  the  "  man  for 
Galway"  is  as  dead  as  Charles  Lever  himself. 

The  diocese  of  Killala  completes  with  one  exception 
my  muster-roll  for  Connaught.  It  contains  two  Sisters 
of  Mercy  convents  at  Ballina  and  Belmullet,  and  a 
priests'  diocesan  seminary  at  Ballina,  where  the  bishop 
lives,  wherein  money  is  made  out  of  whatever  "superior" 
education  is  given  in  the  diocese. 

The  county  Leitrim,  though  in  Connaught,  is  in 
Ardagh  diocese.  It  has  48  priests,  73  nuns,  258  male 
and  female  Catholic  teachers,  making  the  clerical  estab- 
lishment 379  persons,  or  far  more  than  the  combined 
imperial  and  local  government  establishments  in  the 
county,  as  we  have  already  seen.^ 

I  shall  not  expatiate  on  those  two  Connaught  pictures. 
On  the  one  hand  the  reader  will  have  noted  the  dis- 
turbed, unhappy,  ignorant,  impoverished  condition  of 
the  lay  people;  on  the  other,  the  flourishing  state  of  the 
religious.  How  can  a  conscientious  statesman  study 
the  condition  of  Catholic  Connaught  and  escape  from 
the,  to  my  mind,  inevitable  deduction  that  the  priest 
and  his  helpmate  the  nun  constitute  a  force  which 
makes  for  national  disturbance,  discontent,  degeneracy, 
decay,  and,  in  the  end,  death  itself? 

^  "Census  of  Ireland,"  1901. 


CHAPTER    XV 

IN    CATHOLIC    DUBLIN 

We  are  not  concerned  in  this  chapter  with  the  small 
and  fashionable  section  of  Roman  Catholic  Dublin 
which  can  boast  of  society  as  estimable  as  can  be  found 
in  any  city  in  the  world,  but  with  the  struggling 
and  the  poor.  It  is  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of 
Sunday,  in  September  1 90 1 ,  and  I  am  in  the  Phoenix 
Park.  Pale  women  in  hundreds  are  struggling  up  the 
slope  from  the  main  gate  in  Parkgate  Street,  either  on 
the  footpaths  of  the  main  road  or  through  the  People's 
Gardens,  with  infants  in  their  arms  and  smokins:  hus- 
bands  by  their  sides,  or  clutched  at  hand  and  skirt  by 
toddling  youngsters  requiring  to  be  towed.  The  electric 
tram  has  stopped  outside  the  gate,  not  permitted  to 
come  farther ;  not  permitted  to  carry  those  gasping, 
weak-loined  mothers  and  those  pale  infants  up  the 
hill  into  the  fresh  air,  where  the  grass  and  the  trees 
make  it  so  pleasant  to  rest.  The  Government  is 
willing  to  let  the  trams  into  the  park,  but  the  popular 
press  unanimously  oppose  the  concession  in  the  alleged 
interests  of  a  score  or  two  of  jarvies.  The  Phoenix  Park, 
and  all  its  beauties,  the  plain  of  the  Fifteen  Acres,  the 
Furry  Glen  with  its  lake,  the  view  of  the  salmon-weir 
from  the  Magazine  bluff,  and  the  many  other  prospects 
of  the  winding,  placid  Liffey,  and  of  the  blue  Dublin 
mountains,  are  all  therefore  inaccessible  to  those  hun- 
dreds of  poor  Dublin  mothers  and  their  infants,  to 
whom  the  Park  might  be  such  a  priceless  boon  ;  and  to 


PHCENIX  PARK  ON  SUNDAY  269 

those  lazy  or  tired  Dublin  artisans ;  and  those  pale- 
faced  Dublin  girls  with  their  wealth  of  glossy  hair,  all 
of  whom  would  gladly  pay  a  penny  for  the  tram.  It 
is  such  a  long  walk  up  the  hill  to  the  PhcBnix  Column, 
past  the  front  of  the  Viceregal  Lodge,  to  that  central 
space  midway  in  the  main  road,  where  those  three 
great  houses,  tenanted  by  the  Government's  three  chief 
officials  in  Ireland — to  wit,  the  lord-lieutenant,  the 
chief-secretary,  and  the  under-secretary — front  each 
other,  occupying  the  best  portion  of  the  Phcenix  Park. 
Such  a  long  uphill  climb  from  Parkgate  Street  for 
men,  and  above  all,  for  women,  who  have  had  scant 
rest  and  no  good  air  for  six  days !  Yet  this  middle- 
space,  where  the  official  lodges  stand,  is  only  half-way 
to  the  Castleknock  Gate,  and,  having  reached  it,  you 
have  not  seen  half  the  Park.  It  is  five  o'clock  on  a 
September  Sunday  afternoon,  as  I  have  said.  The  Park 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  Parkgate  Street  Gate — that  is 
to  say,  the  portion  of  it  between  the  Zoo  and  the  gate, 
including  the  People's  Gardens — is  full  of  people.  All 
the  rest  of  the  eighteen  hundred  acres,  glen  and  plain, 
is  deserted,  except  by  some  dozens  of  young  couples, 
by  many  bicyclists,  by  several  groups  of  boys  at  play,  or 
by  dust-raising  outside  cars  with  wild  students  and 
gay  young  shopmen,  who  can  afford  to  fee  the  expiring 
race  of  Park  jarvies,  bound  for  Knockmaroon  and  the 
Strawberry  Beds.  A  band  is  playing  in  the  Hollow 
between  the  People's  Garden  and  the  Zoo.  The  green 
sward  under  the  noble  elms  is  alive  with  humanity — 
men,  women,  youths,  and  children.  The  soldiers' 
scarlet,  the  constabulary  men's  black,  the  girls'  many- 
coloured  dresses  and  glorious  hair  of  various  hues,  the 
white  clothing  of  the  children,  are  all  spread  out  be- 
neath my  eyes,  and  form  a  living  picture  which  cannot 
be  surpassed.    I  am  looking  down  at  it  from  the  high- 


270  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

road  at  the  gates  of  the  People's  Gardens.  The  lugu- 
brious notes  of  "  Just  Before  the  Battle,  Mother,"  wail 
their  melancholy  dirge  from  cornet,  flute,  trombone,  and 
flageolet,  and  the  sadness  of  the  popular  tune  fills  the 
Hollow.  Dance-music  of  our  own,  Irish,  devil-may-care 
variety  follows  quickly.  And  then  the  martial  American 
air — 

"John  Brown's  body  lies  mouldering  in  the  grave" — 

splits  high  heaven  with  its  brazen  strains.  Meanwhile 
the  urchins  scramble  on  the  sward,  the  men  lie  smoking 
on  the  slopes  of  the  Hollow,  the  women  sit  at  rest  with 
anxious  eyes  upon  the  infants.  That  is  Sunday  after- 
noon at  its  best  in  poor  Catholic  Dublin.  It  is  the  best 
outdoor  Sunday  sight  to  look  upon  in  Dublin  for  one 
who  loves  the  people.  Grass,  clouds,  blue  ether,  trees, 
deer,cattle,flowers,  gravelled  walks, lakes, smooth- shaven 
lawns ;  and  music,  bending  the  mind  towards  gayer  and 
more  romantic,  if  not  higher,  trains  of  thought ;  and, 
best  of  all,  people,  abundance  of  people,  of  all  ages 
everywhere  the  eye  may  chance  to  turn ! 

If  you  want  to  see  our  Catholic  Sunday  at  its  worst  go 
down  into  the  purlieus  of  the  city,  into  the  public-houses, 
into  the  tenement  houses,  into  the  pro-cathedral  region. 

But  here,  even  in  the  Park,  and  without  descending 
into  the  purlieus,  you  may  see  some  of  the  worst  mani- 
festations of  the  Irish  character  in  free-play,  those 
traits  which  have  given  us  a  bad  name  in  every  clime. 
Churlish  bigotry,  impious  language  are  in  full  swing 
close  at  hand.  Can  this  be  true  ?  Come,  let  us  test  it. 
Let  us  walk  fifty  paces  from  the  Hollow,  and  take 
our  stand  at  the  Gough  Monument  on  the  main  road. 
Two  or  three  virtuous-looking,  bare-headed  men  and 
some  quietly  dressed  ladies  are  standing  in  a  group  on 
the  grass  preaching  the  self-sacrifice  of  Christ  and  the 
salvation  He  bought  for  all  mankind  by  His  death. 


CATHOLIC  INTOLERANCE  271 

Or  perhaps  they  are  singing  a  hymn  in  soft,  clear- ringing 
voices  in  praise  of  God  who  made  the  blue  vault  under 
which  they  stand ;  in  praise  of  God  who  caused  those 
giant  elms  round  about  them  to  grow  ;  in  praise  of  God 
who  holds  in  the  hollow  of  His  hand  those  dappled 
deer,  those  grazhig  cattle,  those  boys  and  girls  romping 
on  the  steps  of  the  Wellington  Monument,  this  great 
Park    itself,   this  Atlantic-girt   island   of  Ireland,  the 
whole  earth,  and  countless  worlds  besides.     But  mark 
the  four  massive  and  judicial- visaged  Dublin  policemen. 
They  stand   close   beside  the  group  who  raise    their 
voices  in  praise  of  God.      And  mark  the  crowd  of  fifty 
or  sixty  youths,  aged    from    fifteen    to    twenty,  with 
younger  urchins  in  between  their  legs,  Avho  are  shouting 
and  swearing,  and  foaming  at  the  mouth,  and  speaking 
filth  into  the  faces  of  those  healthy-looking,  fearless 
praisers  of  God.     Hearken  with  horror  to  language  as 
vile  as  ever  re-echoed  in  the  worst  slum  in  the  pro- 
cathedral  parish  of  Dublin  which  is  being  hurled  at 
those  earnest,  inoffensive  preachers  and  hymn-singers 
who  praise  God,  the  All-Bountiful.     Could   anything 
evince  a  lower  degree  of  civilisation  ?     You  look  up  at 
the  blue  sky  and  Avonder  that  fire  does  not  fall  from 
heaven  and  blast  those  young  curs  who  thus  bark  at 
men  and  women  for  daring  to  stand  in  the  open  air 
and  sing  a  hynm  in  plain  English  in  praise  of  that  God 
who  gives  breath  to  their  lungs,  and  endows  them  with 
a  mind  to  ennoble  their  sin-beset  bodies.     You  wonder 
that  God  does  not  strike  down  those  human  yelpers  of 
sinful  language,  and  you  can  only  say  with  resignation, 
as  the  dying  President  M'Kinley  said,  "  It  is  His  way." 
Those  snarling  youths  are  Catholic  boys,  our  fellow- 
religionists,  fellow-citizens  and  fellow-countr3nuen,  the 
descendants  of  saints  and  scholars.     They  are  not  devils' 
spawn  ;  they  are  not  Hottentots.     There  ai-e  not  many 


272  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

men  in  Dublin,  I  rejoice  to  say,  vile  enough  to  act  so 
intolerantly.  Is  there  one  adult  disturber  amongst 
them  ?  If  there  be,  then  the  exception  proves  the  rule. 
There  are  a  few  groggy-looking  fellows  and  a  cantan- 
kerous, well-clad  elderly  man.  Where  are  the  priests  ? 
They  are  disporting  themselves  all  over  the  city,  and  no 
one  ever  yet  heard  the  conduct  of  those  Dublin  men 
and  boys  condemned  by  priest  or  monk  in  church  or 
school.  A  serious  word  from  the  priests  would  stop  the 
degrading  display  which  is  witnessed  in  the  Park  every 
Sunday  by  so  many  strangers — to  our  national  discredit. 
But  that  serious  word  is  never  spoken.  Indeed,  the 
sort  of  doctrine  which  the  Catholic  youth  learn  from 
the  pulpits  whenever  they  chance  to  hear  a  sermon 
at  mass,  is  calculated  to  make  them  bigots.  I  do 
not  impute  it  to  any  individual  priest,  secular  or 
regular,  that  he  would  directly  incite  to  violence  in 
any  concrete  case,  but  the  trend  of  our  priests'  preach- 
ing is  to  perpetuate  enmity  between  us  and  other 
Christian  denominations. 

Father  Wheeler,  a  Jesuit,  and  a  quiet  kind  of  man, 
is  reported  as  exclaiming  at  Harold's  Cross : — 

"  Far  be  it  from  me  to  make  use  of  exaggeration  or 
to  stir  up  bad  feeling,  but  it  is  a  fact  patent  to  all  that 
there  exists  in  the  city  an  odious  system  by  Avhich, 
through  the  medium  of  unlimited  wealth,  people  are 
endeavouring  to  lead  the  children  of  the  wretchedly 
poor  from  the  Catholic  faith.  Let  them  try  and  realise 
what  a  fearful  temptation  was  placed  in  the  way  of  the 
very  poor  ! "  ^ 

While  Father  Kane,  another  Jesuit,  is  widely  reported 
as  holding  forth  thus  in  Gardiner  Street :  2 — 

"  It  is  the  old  Church  that  has  an  actual  mission ;  it 
is  the  old  faith  that  is  a  living  fact.     Hence  they  could 

•  Freeman,  Feb.  19,  1902.  -  Irish  Catholic,  Feb.  22,  1902. 


THE  JESUIT  GOSPEL  273 

listen  to  no  new  prophets,  and  they  would  simply,  abso- 
lutely and  remorselessly  brand  as  false  any  teaching 
that  denied  the  old  faith."  Referring  to  the  "  so-called 
Reformation,"  Father  Kane  is  reported  as  saying :  "  It 
was  a  reformation  of  divine  authority  to  teach,  in  order 
to  suit  the  whims  of  private  judgment  or  the  insolence 
of  free  thought ;  a  reformation  of  spiritual  authority  in 
order  to  make  Parliament  an  arbiter  of  divine  dogma, 
and  to  make  bishops  the  creatures  of  a  king ;  a  reforma- 
tion of  sacred  vows  to  God  in  order  to  let  loose  viciout^ 
monks  and  nuns;  a  reformation  of  holy  marriage  in 
order  to  admit  of  adultery ;  a  reformation  of  fasting  in 
order  to  suit  the  glutton ;  a  reformation  of  penance  in 
order  to  suit  the  profligate ;  a  reformation  through 
which  flowed  the  poison  and  corruption  that  had  been 
festering  within  the  Church  ;  a  reformation  that  sought 
to  justify  its  existence  by  blotting  out  more  than  a 
hundred  years  of  Christian  history ;  a  reformation  that 
ignored  or  laughed  at  Christ's  promise  to  His  apostles 
that  to  the  end  of  ages  they  should  not  err  ;  a  reforma- 
tion that  snapped  its  Angers  in  the  face  of  the  living 
Church,  and  told  the  millions  of  martyrs,  virgins, 
confessors,  doctors,  in  whose  lives  since  Calvary  the 
Gospel  light  had  shone  amidst  the  darkness,  that  they 
were  swindlers,  fools,  or  knaves.  And  why  ?  Because 
an  apostate  Tiionk  who  lived  with  a  runaway  nun, 
and  who  boasted  that  he  could  tell  the  brew  of  any  beer 
in  Germany,  chose  to  be  rebellious  as  well  as  bad; 
and  because  in  England  a  king,  adulterer  and  murderer, 
wanted  to  put  away  his  wife  and  marry  his  mistress." 

Such  imputations  only  lead  one  to  suspect  the 
chastity,  sobriety,  and  general  perfection  of  the 
preacher  who,  when  he  was  thus  calumniating  Martin 
Luther,  was  speaking  to  a  crowded  church.  And  I 
can  imagine — for  I  have  often  attended  that  church 
— how  the  denizens  of  that  most  decadent  part  of 
respectable  Dublin  heaved  a  sigh  and  congratulated 
themselves  as  they  left  the  church  upon  being  within 

s 


274  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

the  true  fold.  It  is  amazing  how  social  decay  ever  goes 
hand  in  hand  with  clerical  fatness.  The  only  concern 
in  that  district  which  is  prospering  is  the  Jesuit's  estab- 
lishment at  Gardiner  Street.  They  have  recently 
doubled  or  trebled  the  size  of  the  residential  quarters 
to  provide,  it  is  alleged,  for  fugitive  French  Jesuitry. 
Everything  else  in  the  neighbourhood  but  their  re- 
ligious emporium  is  going  down.  Mountjoy  Square, 
and  the  grand  streets  adjoining  it,  are  in  the  hands  of 
people  at  the  present  moment  who  are  several  degrees 
lower  than  those  who  inhabited  that  locality  thirty 
years  ago.  But  the  Jesuits  and  their  church  flourish 
with  increasing  vigour  as  the  locality  decays.  About 
three  o'clock  every  afternoon  you  will  notice  a  number 
of  mysterious  priests  in  black  broadcloth  emerging 
from  the  residence-house  attached  to  this  Jesuit  church 
one  by  one.  I  have  often  marvelled  at  the  number  of 
them  who  come  forth  about  that  hour  of  the  afternoon 
and  proceed  to  disperse  themselves  all  over  the  town, 
visiting  Catholics  who  are  well  off,  in  furtherance  of 
their  objects.  They  are  the  most  persistent  and 
the  most  successful,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  most 
undemonstrative  of  all  the  mendicant  Orders  in  Ireland. 
The  loud-voiced  Dominican,  who  tries  to  rival  them  in 
this  locality  of  Dublin,  finds  himself  outstripped  in 
every  branch  of  religious  commerce  by  the  Jesuit. 

When  a  Jesuit  dines  in  a  house  where  the  company 
are  not  completely  under  his  domination,  or  where 
Protestants  are  present,  I  notice  that  nothing  can  exceed 
his  patience  and  humility.  He  never  misses  a  chance 
of  inculcating  the  extreme  poverty  of  himself  and  his 
Order  upon  those  with  whom  he  associates  on  terms  of 
intimacy.  He  has  been  known,  after  being  entertained 
at  dinner  at  a  well-to-do  Dublin  Catholic's  house,  to 
ask  the  hostess  for  a  penny  or  twopence  to  pay  his 


URIAH  HEEP  JESUIT  275 

tram-fare  back  to  Gardiner  Street,  The  Jesuit  Society 
has,  perhaps,  more  strings  to  its  bow  than  any  other 
community  of  priests  in  Ireland.  They  have,  for 
instance,  a  man  to  cater  in  a  mild  way  for  sincere 
temperance  people.  They  have  hon-vivants  to  please 
those  who  are  fond  of  wine,  good  living,  and  good  stories. 
They  have  abstemious,  ascetic-looking  men  to  win 
their  way  into  the  confidence  of  ladies  who  go  in  for 
the  religious  cult,  and  who  may  be  presented  by  those 
ladies  to  their  friends  in  power  at  the  Viceregal  Lodge, 
the  chief  secretary's  lodge,  or  the  castle.  They  have 
burly,  stentorian  Jesuits  to  orate  and  fume  in  remote 
country  districts,  when  they  are  invited  by  the  local 
parish  priest  to  give  a  retreat  or  a  mission.  In  a  word, 
the  Jesuit  body  can  be  all  things  to  all  men  and  all 
women.  They  may  be — and  it  is  not  admitting  much — 
better  educated  than  the  sfeneral  run  of  the  religious 
Orders  in  Ireland ;  but  they  are,  perhaps,  on  that 
account,  all  the  more  objectionable,  and  all  the  greater 
drag  upon  the  country.  Whenever  there  was  trouble 
in  Ireland  the  Jesuit  was  always  found  absent  or 
invisible.  During  the  land  agitation,  for  instance, 
nobody  ever  heard  the  Jesuits  raising  their  voice  in  the 
interests  of  peace.  They  were  in  their  burrows  like 
moles.  But  in  the  confusion  which  followed  the  death 
of  Mr.  Parnell,  and  when  politics  were  at  a  very  low 
ebb  in  Ireland,  the  Jesuits  came  forth  to  glean. 

Father  Kane's  hearers  listened  complacently  to  the 
oft-told  calumny  about  the  first  reformers  and  the  low 
suggestions  which  accompanied  it.  Our  priests  com- 
plain if  they  are  accused  of  immorality  by  Protestant 
writers  and  speakers  in  England.  Why,  then,  should 
they  rake  up  such  low  scandals  about  the  men  who 
risked  life  and  property  to  save  North  Europe  from  the 
sensual  clutch  of  the  Popes  ?     I  do  not  myself  believe 


276  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

tliat  any  cause  can  be  advanced  by  singling  out  the 
failings  of  individual  men  and  women  for  objurgation. 
I  object  to  such  methods  when  employed  against  our 
priests.  I  also  object  to  them  when  employed  by  our 
priests  against  our  Protestant  fellow-citizens  to  excite 
the  passions  of  the  lower  classes. 

Martin  Luther,  the  reviled,  must  have  been  even  a 
greater  wonder-worker  than  I  regard  him,  if,  being  a 
friar,  and  wishing  to  marry  a  young  lady  who  happened 
to  be  a  nun,  and  solely  to  accomplish  his  own  personal 
gratification,  he  succeeded  in  making  all  North  Europe 
cast  off  the  papal  yoke,  and  by  the  religious  and  mental 
emancipation  thus  won,  revolutionised  the  entire  con- 
dition of  the  world  for  the  better.  For  it  is  to  the 
Protestantism,  or  the  free-thought  in  religion  then 
established,  that  we  owe  everything  of  progress  and 
improvement  which  has  been  achieved  since.  Should 
a  Jesuit  take  it  into  his  head  to  elope  with  one  of  the 
nuns  next  door  to  his  chapel  in  Gardiner  Street,  I 
venture  to  say  no  such  world-reforming  consequences 
would  follow.  I  certainly  should  not  fasten  upon  the 
incident  as  an  argument  against  the  Jesuits.  If  I 
attack  institutions,  my  attack  will  always  be  grounded 
upon  fundamental  principles  and  general  consequences, 
not  upon  the  failings  of  individuals. 

I  do  not  impute  to  Father  Wheeler  or  Father  Kane 
responsibility  for  such  a  reprehensible  occurrence  as 
the  following  by  no  means  exceptional  incident  re- 
ported recently  in  the  police  news  of  the  popular 
Dubhn  press : — 

"  Police  constable  66  D,  charged  B.  C,  an  apprentice 
to  the  provision  trade,  with  throwing  a  stone  at  a 
preacher  of  the  Plymouth  Brethren,  who  were  holding 
an  open-air  religious  meeting  at  the  Gough  Statue, 
Phcenix  Park,  yesterday.     Mr.  Mahony  imposed  a  line 


PRACTICE  AFTER  PREACHING  277 

of  20s.     The  defendant,  in  default  of  payment,  to  go  to 
jail  for  fourteen  days."  ^ 

Nor  for  another  and  worse  crime,  far  removed  from 
the  scene  of  the  stoning  in  the  Phoenix  Park,  but  in 
another  quarter  of  the  city  of  Dublin,  where  the 
population  is  almost  exclusively  Catholic,  and,  to  a 
great  extent,  poor  and  ignorant.  If  they  take  the 
low  view  of  the  religious  basis  on  which  the  Reforma- 
tion rests,  as  enunciated  in  Father  Kane's  sermon,  can 
the  poor  actors  in  those  disgraceful  scenes  be  said  to  be 
doing  more  than  practising  in  their  way  the  gospel 
preached  from  their  pulpits  ?  What  feeling  save  one  of 
loathing  can  the  poor  Catholics  have  for  the  ministers 
of  a  Reformation,  which  reformed  "  the  sacred  vows  to 
God  in  order  to  let  loose  vicious  monks  and  nuns " ; 
which  reformed  "  holy  marriage  in  order  to  admit  of 
adultery  "  ;  which  "  told  the  millions  of  martyrs,  virgins, 
confessors,  doctors,  in  whose  lives  since  Calvary  the 
Gospel  light  had  shone  amidst  the  darkness,  that  they 
were  swindlers,  fools,  or  knaves  "  ;  and  which  took  place 
solely  "  because  an  apostate,  who  lived  with  a  runaway 
nun,  chose  to  become  rebellious  as  well  as  bad,  and 
because  in  England  a  king,  adulterer  and  murderer, 
wanted  to  put  away  his  wife  and  marry  his  mistress  "  ? 
How  can  the  little  Catholic  boys  and  girls  of  the  street- 
side,  Avhose  surroundings  are  so  low  and  sordid,  be 
blamed  for  anything  they  do,  if  under  the  influence 
of  such  teaching  ?  Let  the  following  case  give  an 
instance  of  what  is,  perhaps,  being  done  on  the 
Sabbath  afternoon  in  the  heart  of  Dublin,  while  the 
scenes  which  we  have  described  are  going  on  in  the 
Phoenix  Park: — 

"  To-day,  in  the  Police  Court,  before  Mr.  Swifte,  seven 
boys,  of  ages  varying  from  eight  to  sixteen  years,  were 

'  Evtniag  Herald. 


278  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

charged  by  Inspector  Holohan  and  Constable  Finn  (76A) 
with  being  members  of  a  crowd  of  boys  who  were,  on 
Sunday  evening  last,  guilty,  as  alleged,  of  wantonly 
throwing  stones  or  missiles  on  the  public  thoroughfare 
in  Lower  Clanbrassil  Street,  to  the  danger  of  the  public. 
They  were  further  charged  with  having  on  the  same 
occasion  seriously  assaulted  the  Rev.  Mr.  S.,  rector  of 
St.  L.'s. 

"The  Rev.  Mr.  S.  deposed  that  on  Sunday  evening 
last  he  was  returning  home  from  service  in  St.  L.'s  to 
his  residence.  He  was  accompanied  by  a  gentleman. 
They  were  followed  by  a  crowd  of  about  twenty  boys. 
The  crowd  began  to  follow  them  at  the  top  of  Malpas 
Street.  Some  of  the  boys  were  bigger  than  those  in 
the  dock.  There  was  shouting  and  jeering  and  booing, 
apparently  directed  at  witness  and  his  friend.  He 
did  not  hear  what  was  said.  About  Daniel  Street  the 
young  lads  closed  up,  and  he  was  struck  on  the  head 
with  a  stone,  and  on  the  leg  and  back  with  some 
missiles.  He  was  crippled  by  the  blow  on  the  leg. 
The  blow  on  the  head  was  severe,  and  the  next  day 
witness  was  bleeding  from  the  nose  as  the  result,  he  be- 
lieved, of  the  blow  on  the  head.  He  was  still  in  the 
doctor's  hands.  He  was  unable  to  follow  the  boys. 
The  gentleman  who  was  with  him  did.  When  witness 
came  up  with  him  he  was  holding  one  boy.  Witness 
advised  him  to  let  him  go.  The  boys  again  began  to 
jeer,  but  ran  when  they  saw  the  police.  He  did  not 
identify  any  of  the  boys. 

"  Constable  Finn  deposed  that  he  was  on  duty  near 
Clanbrassil  Street  on  Sunday  evening  between  8  and  9 
o'clock  in  plain  clothes.  He  saw  a  number  of  boys  at 
the  corner  of  Williams'  Place ;  they  were  shouting  and 
booing  and  hissing,  and  throwing  squibs.  He  saw  the 
Rev.  Mr.  S.  and  another  gentleman  standing  in  the 
midst  of  them.  The  boys  ran  when  they  saw  witness. 
He  ran  after  them  down  Bonny's  Lane.  He  recognised 
the  six  boys  in  the  dock  as  having  been  in  the  crowd. 
He  believed  the  Rev.  Mr.  S.  was  the  object  of  the 
booing.     There  were  sixteen  or  twenty  boys. 


ASSAULTS   ON  CLERGYMEN  279 

"  J.  O'N.  deposed  that  he  saw  a  crowd  of  boys  around 
the  rev.  gentleman,  shouting,  booing,  and  hissing.  There 
were  men  and  women  in  the  crowd  also.  He  saw  things 
thrown  at  the  clergyman. 

"  Mr.  Swifte  said  the  evidence  disclosed  an  offence  of 
a  very  reprehensible  character.  In  view  of  the  age  of 
the  defendants,  he  did  not  wish  to  commit  them 
absolutely  to  jail,  more  especially  as  there  appeared  to 
have  been  adults  behind  tlie  boys  encouraging  them  in 
their  action,  a  fact  which  he  thought  was  a  very  regret- 
table feature  of  the  case.  He  would  fine  M.  20s.,  with 
the  alternative  of  going  to  prison  for  fourteen  days. 
He  should  also  find  bail  in  the  sum  of  £$,  or  go  to  jail 
for  another  fourteen  days.  All  the  boys,  except  M., 
who  was  fined  ^i,  were  ordered  to  find  bail  in  ;^ 5,  or  go 
to  jail  for  fourteen  days."  ^ 

The  clergyman,  be  it  noted,  did  not  identify  any  of 
the  prisoners,  nor  was  he  the  prosecutor  even,  though 
he  was  so  brutally  treated ;  and  the  magistrate,  being 
himself  a  Protestant,  dealt  leniently  with  the  case, 
perhaps  for  that  reason.  Contrast  this  behaviour  with 
the  tenderness  of  the  Engflish  authorities  in  ijuardinsr 
the  susceptibilities  of  the  Catholic  minority  in  England 
from  the  slightest  hurt  at  the  hands  of  Protestants. 

That  outbreak  of  public  violence  and  disrespect  to 
Protestant  clergymen  in  the  streets  of  Catholic  Dublin 
was,  I  regret  to  say,  by  no  means  an  isolated  one.  A 
violent  assault  on  an  elderly  Protestant  clergyman  on 
the  public  road  outside  Kingstown  took  place  shortly 
before  this  on  a  Sabbath  afternoon,  and  the  delinquents 
were  punished  by  the  police  magistrate. 

I  have  been  authoritatively  informed  that,  some  years 
ago,  a  gross  outrage  was  put  upon  a  clergyman  of  the 
Church  of  Ireland  not  many  hundred  yards  from  the 
scene  of  this  disturbance  of  the  peace  which  I  have 
just  recorded.     The  name  of  the  clergyman  was  men- 

Evening  Telegraph,  November  30,  1901. 


28o  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

tioned  to  me,  and  lie  is  a  man  singularly  inoffensive  in 
his  appearance  and  manner,  so  much  so  that  it  amazes 
me  that  even  the  most  misguided  of  our  poor  people 
should  be  guilty  of  such  an  outrage.  It  appears  the 
clergyman  was  passing  through  one  of  the  old  streets 
in  the  liberties  of  Dublin  on  the  way  from  one  of  the 
Protestant  cathedrals  to  his  own  home,  when  a  hus^e 
rough,  probably  a  slaughter-house  man,  rushed  out  of 
an  unoccupied  shop  flourishing  a  cow's  windpipe  or 
entrails  in  his  hand,  all  fresh  and  blood-stained,  and  the 
degraded  scamp  threw  the  butcher's  offal  round  the 
neck  of  the  clergyman. 

The  clergyman,  an  elderly  man,  seeing  no  redress 
in  the  vicinity,  and  fearing,  not  without  some  justice, 
that  his  life  was  in  danger,  fled  from  the  locality.  The 
incident  was  reported  to  the  parish  priests,  but  no 
action  was  taken  by  them ;  nor  did  they  seem  to  realise 
that  such  an  outrage  was  not  only  a  disgrace  to  them- 
selves, but  that  it  reflected  the  gravest  discredit  upon 
our  city. 

Indeed  but  for  the  police  of  Dublin  there  would  be 
no  check  upon  such  conduct.  Our  Dubhn  people  are, 
it  is  true,  naturally  tolerant  and  fair-minded,  and  such 
instances  of  bigotry  are  only  to  be  found  in  the  lowest 
quarters  of  the  city.  But  those  are  the  quarters  in 
which  the  priests  claim  the  most  paramount  authority, 
and  from  whose  inhabitants  they  exclude  most  rigor- 
ously all  possibility  of  enlightenment,  whether  from  the 
better-class  Catholic  laity  or  from  the  Protestants. 
Every  well-meant  attempt  to  improve  the  condition  or 
enlighten  the  darkness  of  the  denizens  of  these  Catholic 
districts  at  once  raises  the  ire  of  the  priests,  and  the 
tocsin  of  danger  to  the  faith  is  sounded  from  the  altars. 
But  the  public  may  be  assured  that  the  respectable  lay 
Roman  Catholics  of  Dublin  condemn  such  exhibitions 


THE  CATHOLIC  LAITY  281 

of  bigotry  even  more  strenuously  than  our  Protestant 
fellow-citizens  ;  and  if  they  had  any  voice  in  the  religious 
government  of  the  Dublin  parishes,  such  occurrences 
would  meet  all  the  public  odium  they  deserve. 

But,  were  authority  divided  between  the  clergy 
and  the  laity  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  there 
would  be  no  such  crimes  to  record ;  for  the  average 
Catholic  layman  earnestly  desires  to  live  at  peace  -with 
his  brethren  of  all  denominations. 

The  admitted  sacerdotal  establishment  withm  the  city 
boundary  of  Dublin,  is  279  priests,  177  monks,  216 
theological  students,  and  749  nuns;  total,  142 1,  ex- 
clusive of  subsidiaries.  Within  the  county,  but  outside 
the  city  boundary,  there  are  admitted  in  addition,  232 
priests,  152  monks,  iio  theological  students,  and  977 
nuns;  total,  147 1.  The  admitted  total  of  religious^ 
for  city  and  county,  without  subsidiaries,  is  thus  2892  ! 
In  1 87 1  the  admitted  number  of  priests,  monks,  and 
nuns  was  only  i  5  1 1  ! 

Let  us  now  devote  some  attention  to  the  pro- cathedral 
parish  of  Dublin,  some  of  whose  parishioners  direct 
their  property  to  be  sold  out  to  pay  for  masses,  like 
"  Anne  Roe,  widow,  deceased,"  who  made  her  will  on 
the  26th  of  March  1902,  and  died  on  the  follow- 
ing day.  She  "bequeathed  .^^50  to  the  Magdalen 
Asylum,  Drumcondra;  ;^5o  to  the  same  asylum  in 
Gloucester  Street ;  and,  after  paying  all  expenses,  gave 
the  remainder  of  the  purchase  money  of  No.  5  Hutton's 
Lane,  Dublin,  to  the  parish  priest  of  Marlborough  Street 
Cathedral  for  masses  to  be  celebrated  publicly  in 
Ireland."  ^  Let  us  see  how  little  effect  the  larofe 
sacerdotal  army,  including  those  richly-endowed,  pro- 
fitably-worked, nun-managed  Magdalen  asylums,  have 
upon  the  female  immorality  of  Catholic  Dublin. 

^  "  Census  of  Ireland,"  1901.  -  Freeman,  May  28,  1902. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
IN  CATHOLIC  DUBLIN  (continued) 

"  Owning  her  weakness, 
Her  evil  behaviour, 
And  leaving  with  meekness 

Her  sins  to  her  Saviour  !  " — T.  Hood. 

Still  continuing  to  interest  ourselves  in  poor  Dublin, 
let  us  now  travel  a  little  distance  to  the  southward, 
from  the  scene  of  our  Jesuit's  discourse  in  Upper 
Gardiner  Street.  Let  us  walk  down  the  hill  from 
Mountjoy  Square,  along  that  once  noble  thoroughfare 
known  as  Middle  and  Lower  Gardiner  Street.  Fifty 
years  ago  this  street  was  inhabited  by  professional 
people  and  other  rich  residents,  and  every  house  had 
its  carriage,  its  coachman,  and  its  butler.  To-day,  with 
a  few  exceptians,  this  imposing  stretch  of  street  con- 
sists of  tenement  houses,  inhabited  not  alone  by  the 
lowest  class  of  society,  but  by  the  tramp  and  vagrant, 
and  mendicant  classes.  The  area  around  it,  but  more 
especially  between  it  and  Buckingham  Street  to  the 
east,  is  what  I  shall  call  the  Mecklenburgh  Street  area ; 
and  it  constitutes,  perhaps,  the  greatest  blot  upon  the 
social  life  of  Dublin  and  of  Ireland.  There  is  no  such 
area  in  London,  or  in  any  other  town  of  Great  Britain, 
that  I  ever  saw  or  heard  of.  Within  this  area  the  trade 
of  prostitution  and  immorality  is  carried  on  as  openly 
as  any  branch  of  legitimate  business  is  conducted  in  the 
other  portions  of  Dublin.  The  principal  houses  devoted 
to  immoral  traffic,  in  this  region,  are  as  attractively 

painted  and  fitted  up  on  the  outside  as,  let  us  say, 

283 


MECKLENBURGH  STREET  AREA         283 

private  hotels  or  houses  which  are  legitimately  licensed 
for  the  sale  of  drink  in  the  principal  streets  of  the  city. 
Their  doors  are  open  night  and  day.  There  is  no 
attempt  at  subterfuge.  The  names  of  their  keepers  are 
in  Thorn's  Directory  as  openly  as  those  of  our  profes- 
sional men.  In  fact  the  trade  is  as  well  recognised  in 
this  part  of  Dublin,  as  I  have  said,  as  any  other  branch 
of  business  carried  on  in  the  Irish  capital.  I  have  often 
heard  it  said — and  I  do  the  police  the  justice  of  repeat- 
ing it — in  explanation  of  this  fact,  that  the  authorities 
advisedly,  and  with  the  consent  of  many  of  our  leading 
citizens,  regard  this  territory  as  an  imperivm  in  im- 
perio.  They  consider  it  better  that  the  immorality  of 
Dublin  should  be  all  concentrated  into  that  one  area. 
And  I  have  heard  it  adduced  that,  at  a  time  many  years 
distant,  when  the  immoral  quarter  of  Dublin  was  at  the 
south  side  of  the  Liffey,  in  a  place  called  French  Street, 
and  when  a  clearance  was  made  of  those  who  lived  by 
the  trade  out  of  that  street,  the  result  was  that  the 
immoral  class  thereupon  spread  itself  all  over  the  city 
to  the  annoyance  of  the  respectable  people.  I  see  no 
reason  to  doubt  that  statement.  At  that  time  the  area 
of  Dublin  was  much  more  circumscribed  than  it  is  at 
present.  There  were  at  that  time  practically  no 
suburban  areas ;  and,  therefore,  I  do  not  believe  that 
such  a  result  would  be  found  to  follow  from  dispersion 
at  the  present  day.  I  think  it  right  to  state  these 
circumstances  as  an  explanation  of  the  fact  that  our 
Dublin  lay  authorities  have  not  seen  their  way  to  take 
eftectual  mea.sures  to  stamp  out  the  trade  carried  on  in 
the  Mecklenburgh  Street  area ;  and  why  the  principle 
divide  et  impera  has  not  been  applied. 

But,  seeing  the  strength  of  the  sacerdotal  organisa- 
tion in  Dublin,  it  is  the  priests  who  should  take  the 
initiative. 


284  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

This  area  of  Dublin  is,  in  fact,  what  the  Japanese  call 
a  Yoshiwari,  with  this  difference,  that  the  Yoshiwari  in 
Japan  is  licensed  by  the  State,  and  under  the  charge  of 
the  State,  and  that  the  State  holds  itself  responsible  for 
the  safety  of  the  lives  of  the  people  who  enter  it.     Such 
people  must  give  their  names  and  addresses  before  going 
into  the  Yoshiwari.    Nor  are  the  denizens  of  the  Yoshi- 
ivari  allowed  to  leave  it.     Here  in  Dublin  our  Yoshiwari 
is  not  under  State  supervision,  but  yet  it  is  a  district 
apart  from  the  rest  of  the  town,  and  well  known  to 
every    resident    in    Dublin   as  being    devoted    to   the 
nefarious    practices  carried  on  within  its  area.     And 
the  denizens  of  our    Yoshiwari  are  free  to  issue  forth 
at  their  pleasure  to  roam  through  the  city.     So  much, 
then,  as  to  the  position  of  those  who  are  charged  with 
the  legal  administration  of  the  city  with  regard  to  this 
Yoshiwari  of  Dublin.     Their  conduct  in  regard  to  it 
has  met  with  the  tacit  approval  of  the  corporation  and 
citizens  of  Dublin ;  because,  as  I  have  said,  it  is  believed 
that  if  the  police  should,  as  they  are  empowered  to  do, 
disperse  by  prosecution  the  denizens  of  this  area,  the 
entire  town  would  suffer.     I  do  not  think  so,  for  the 
reason  I  have  stated ;  and  therefore  do  not  agree  with 
that  view.     I  think  Dublin  has  so  much  expanded  since 
the  days  of  the  abolition  of  French  Street,  that  no 
similar  recurrence  would  now  be  likely  to  take  place. 
Since  it  seems  to  be  accepted  as  a  necessary  part  of  our 
social  system  that  every  city  must  have  its  quota  of 
fallen  females,  I  do  not  propose  to  take  up  the  un- 
tenable position  that  Dublin  should  be  without  a  share 
of  misguided  women.    But  I  take  up  this  position,  that 
our  city  should  not  swarm  with  them,  and  that  things 
should  not  be  made  comfortable  for  them.     I  think  our 
ideal  of  morality  should  not  be  so  extremely  low  as  it  is. 
And  I  think  that  it  is  the  bounden  duty  of  every  clergy- 


I 


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s  p. 


THE   PRIEST   AND   THE    YOSHIWARI     285 

man  to  exert  himself  to  lessen  the  number  of  our  fallen 
women,  to  save  those  who  are  engaged  in  hving  by  their 
immorality,  and  to  warn  the  young  against  the  perils 
that  exist.     I  think  it  is  his  duty  to  visit  and  advise, 
and  to  prevent  by  every  moral  means  in  his  power  the 
free  exercise  of  this  degrading  trade.     It  is  upon  him, 
and  not   upon  the   municipal  and   police  authorities, 
that  first  responsibility  in  this  matter  rests.    I  say  fear- 
lessly that  the  clergyman  who  stands  by  while  such  a 
region  as  the  Mecklenburgh  Street  area  flourishes  and 
thrives  before  his  very  face,  is  guilty  of  a  dereliction  of 
duty.     I  say  that  the  existence  of  such  a  district  is  a 
reproach  and  a  disgrace  to  the  clergymen  of  all  denomi- 
nations who  arc  territorially  responsible  for  it.    It  is  well 
known  that  nearly  nine-tenths  of  the  denizens  of  this 
region  are  Catholics,  and  that  the  region  itself  is  in 
the  parish  of  the  Catholic  pro-cathedral,  for  which  the 
Catholic  archbishop  of  Dublin  is  directly  responsible  in 
the  eyes  of  the  public.    The  bishop,  are  we  not  told,  is 
the  divinely  appointed  custodian  of  "  faith  and  morals  "  ? 
That  is  why  the  bishop  must  control  the  new  Catholic 
University  !     What  account,  then,  can  the  bishop  of 
this  area  give  of  his  stewardship  ?     Is  he  satisfied  with 
the  morals  of  his  flock  ?     I  say,  while  admitting  his 
personal  integrity,  that  the  existence  of  this  area  is  a 
disgrace  to  Dublin  Catholics  and  to  him  as  our  divinely 
appointed  guardian.     I  say  further  that  I  do  not  believe 
Dubliners  are  so  depraved  as  to  cause  any  necessity 
whatever  for  the  existence  of  such  an  immense  and 
densely  peopled  immoral  reservation  in  our  midst.     Nor 
are  the  only  crimes  committed  within  this  district  those 
of  fornication  and  adultery.     I  find  that  from  year's  end 
to  year's  end  robberies,  garrotings,  brutal  assaults — yea, 
and  even  murders — are  committed,  not  only  by  the 
denizens  of  the  locality  and  their  associates  upon  one 


286  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

another,  but  upon  strangers  in  our  city  who  are  enticed 
into  those  precincts.  Is  it  not  right,  then,  that  some  one, 
even  the  least  worthy  amongst  Dubhners,  should  raise 
his  voice  for  the  credit  of  Dublin  ?  In  many  cases 
strangers  drawn  into  this  district,  frequently  under  the 
influence  of  drink,  are  robbed  of  vast  sums  of  money, 
and  frequently  even  of  the  very  clothes  they  wear. 
Oftentimes  we  read  that  they  are  violently  assaulted, 
and  more  than  once  they  are  known  to  have  been 
killed.  I  have  seen  the  police  swear  in  court  that  they 
carry  their  lives  in  their  hands  in  those  streets  at  night- 
time. It  is  often  said  that  no  compassion  should  be  felt 
for  the  people  upon  Avliom  such  evils  fall.  It  is  alleged 
that  they  themselves  put  themselves  in  the  wrong  by 
going  into  this  area,  and  that  therefore  they  merit  any- 
thing, even  loss  of  life,  which  may  befall  them. 

But  I  cannot  hold  with  that  contention,  while  I  by 
no  means  palliate  the  acts  of  the  people  who  extend 
their  custom  and  patronage  to  such  an  area.  It  is 
contrary  to  all  civilised  usages  that  a  man  should  be 
robbed  and  assaulted  within  the  precincts  of  a  civilised 
city  like  Dublin.  If  such  a  place  is  suffered  to  exist 
and  thrive,  the  community  is  responsible  for  all  con- 
sequences accruing  from  its  existence.  It  is  particularly 
odious  that  strangers,  ignorant  of  the  habits  and  cus- 
toms of  the  town — sailors  paid  off  after  a  voyage, 
horse-dealers,  and  cattle-dealers  away  from  home,  and 
commercial  travellers,  to  mention  a  few  recent  instances 
— should  be  so  treated. 

How  could  any  stranger,  for  instance,  be  aware  of  the 
following  facts  concerning  "  the  district  of  the  city  of 
Dublin  which  lies  between  the  Liffey,  Sackville  Street, 
Great  Britain  Street,  Summer  Hill,  and  Amiens  Street "? 
I  quote  from  a  circular  issued  about  this  region  in  July 
1 90 1,  and  signed  by  '■  W.  J.  Clarke,  D.D.,  Highfield 


NORTH  STREET  IN  CORK  287 

Road,  Rathgar,  late  rector  of  St.  Thomas's  parish,  chair- 
man ;  E,  Robinson,  A.M.,  6  Gardiner's  Place,  rector  of 
St.  Thomas's  parish;  William  Proctor,  28  Kenilworth 
Square,  Rathgar,  United  Free  Presbyterian  Church, 
hon.  secretary;  John  Connell,  A.M.,  2  Gracepark  Gar- 
dens, Drumcondra,  rector  of  Drumcondra  and  North 
Strand,  hon.  secretary."  The  abominable  district  is  in 
the  Protestant  parish  of  St.  Thomas,  and  the  next 
adjoining  Protestant  parish  is  that  of  North  Strand. 
This  explains  why  the  late  rector  and  present  rector  of 
St.  Thomas's  parish  and  the  rector  of  North  Strand 
busy  themselves  in  this  matter.  The  denizens  of  the 
immoral  area  are  nearly,  if  not  quite,  nine-tenths 
Cathohc.  But  the  Catholic  clergymen  refuse  to  co- 
operate with  the  signatories  to  this  circular  in  any 
movement  to  reclaim  the  area.  I  myself  attended 
mass  for  five  years  at  the  pro-cathedral  in  Marlborough 
Street.  Unlike  the  vast  majority  of  the  congregation, 
I  frequently  waited  to  hear  the  sermon  preached  at  that 
place  of  worship.  I  can  truthfully  say  that  I  never 
heard  a  word  said  against  prostitution  from  the  pulpit. 
Nor  did  I  ever  hear  of  any  practical  effort  made  by  the 
priests  of  Marlborough  Street  or  by  the  Jesuits  of 
Gardiner  Street  to  improve  the  criminal  condition  of 
that  savage  district.  I  remember  when  I  was  a  boy 
that  there  was  a  street  of  this  description  in  the  city  of 
Cork  known  as  North  Street.  It  abutted  Lavitt's  Quay, 
close  to  Patrick's  Brido^e,  and  I  used  to  see  the  women 
of  that  street  bare-headed  and  bare-breasted,  in  coloured 
dresses,  disporting  themselves  at  the  quay  end  of  the 
street,  within  sight  of  Patrick's  Bridge,  the  most  central 
point  of  the  town.  But  I  also  remember  that  the 
priests  of  Cork  at  that  time  rose  up,  and,  with  the 
co-operation  of  the  landlords  of  the  street,  evicted 
the  entire  population  of  North  Street.     There  was  a 


288  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

great  deal  of  ostentatious  formality,  it  is  true,  about 
the  proceeding,  such  as  religious  processions  through 
the  street,  blessing  of  the  houses  from  which  the 
women  had  been  evicted,  and  so  forth ;  but  credit 
must  be  given  for  the  fact  that  the  street  no  longer 
exists,  and  that  there  is  now  no  Yoshiivari  in  Cork ;  at 
any  rate,  if  there  is,  it  does  not  obtrude  itself  upon  the 
ordinary  spectator  as  North  Street  did  of  old. 

The  circular  to  which  I  have  referred,  and  which  is 
now  before  me,  dealing  with  our  Dublin  Yoshiivari  goes 
on  to  say  : — 

"  The  district  was  known  to  be  the  haunt  of  vice  and 
sin,  but  few  knew  the  awful  depths  to  which  very  many 
of  our  fellow-citizens  living  in  it  had  sunk.  Alas !  we 
know  now  that  the  sad,  harrowing  scenes  depicted  are 
not  only  true,  but  should  be  portrayed  in  even  darker 
colours.  Something  of  the  moral  depravity  of  the 
district  may  be  gleaned  from  the  fact  that  there  are 

about    lOO  HOUSES  of   ill-fame,  and   over    500   KNOWN 

PROSTITUTES  in  it.  According  to  the  police  statistics  for 
1899,  nearly  one-third  of  the  whole  criminal  cases,  or 
10,416  out  of  35,974  in  the  Dublin  Metropolitan  Police 
district  came  out  of  that  area.  .  .  .  They  give,  however, 
but  a  faint  idea  of  the  prevailing  vice  and  immorality. 
One  high  in  authority,  whose  testimony  is  worthy  of 
the  highest  respect,  said  lately,  '  I  know  well  the  moral 
condition  of  all  the  large  cities  in  the  United  Kingdom, 
and  in  none  of  them  does  the  social  evil  prevail  to 
such  a  large  extent,  or  is  it  carried  on  so  openly,  as  in 
Dublin.'" 

What  a  character  that  is  to  give  of  the  pro-cathedral 
parish  of  Catholic  Dublin  !  How  vain  and  empty  are 
our  boasts  about  Irish  virtue  in  the  face  of  such  a 
damning  condition  of  things !  Whom  can  we  expect 
to  believe  our  self-glorification,  except  interested  flat- 
terers of  the  priesthood,  engaged  in  trying  to  create 


A  CITIZEN'S  DUTY  289 

Government   positions   for    themselves    by   means    of 
priestly  aid  in  Ireland  ?    The  circular  goes  on  to  say : — 

"  The  Lord  Mayor,  Sir  Thomas  Pile,  Bart.,  visiting 
lately  the  district  with  the  view  of  improving  it,  said, 
'  I  never  could  have  believed  such  an  immoral  district 
existed  in  the  city.  It  is  a  disgrace  to  the  Churches  of 
all  denominations  to  allow  such  a  state  of  things^  to 
continue.' " 

Sir  Thomas  Pile  is  not  a  Catholic.  Were  the  visitor 
to  our  Yoshiwari  on  that  occasion  a  Catholic  lord 
mayor  he  would  have  been  afraid  to  make  such  a 
statement  in  view  of  the  fact  that  Archbishop  Walsh 
himself  is  the  parish  priest  of  the  area.  Sir  Thomas 
Pile,  to  his  credit,  did  not  hesitate  to  make  the  state- 
ment. It  now  comes  within  my  province,  in  this  book 
dealing  with  the  conditions  and  relations  of  priests 
and  people  in  Ireland,  to  take  the  risk  of  bringing 
home  the  responsibility  for  the  degraded  condition  of 
the  Catholic  nine-tenths  of  the  population  of  that  area 
— who  are  my  fellow-religionists,  and  for  whom  I  feel — 
to  the  proper  parties.  It  may  be  that  I  am  unwise  in 
my  generation.  So  be  it.  I  still  think  that  it  is  right 
to  tell  the  truth,  and  to  fearlessly  state  what  one  be- 
lieves to  be  the  cause — and,  above  all,  the  removable 
cause — of  evil  to  one's  fellow-countrymen.  It  is,  there- 
fore, a  sense  of  duty,  as  well  as  a  sincere  love  for  the 
city  of  Dublin  in  which  I  have  lived  so  long,  that  in- 
duces me  to  deal  at  such  length  with  this  question. 
I  believe  that  the  Mecklenburgh  Street  area  in  Dublin 
is  a  centre  of  corruption,  and  of  the  lowest  morality, 
which  diseases  the  entire  island,  out  even  to  Malin 
Head,  Clew  Bay,  and  Berehaven. 

The  circular  under  consideration  continues: — 

"  Are  we,  the  citizens  of  Dublin  and  suburbs,  as  we 
have  done  in  the  past,  going  to  shut  our  eyes  to  the 

T 


290  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

magnitude  of  the  evil,  and  content  ourselves  with 
showing  we  cannot  be  held  responsible,  seeing  we  really 
have  little  knowledge  of  that  part  of  our  city  ? .  .  .  Some- 
thing ought  to  be,  and  must  be,  done  adequate  to  the 
extent  and  flagrance  of  the  evil.  In  one  direction 
action  has  been  taken.  About  two  years. ago  the  Pro- 
testant local  clergy,  along  with  several  laymen,  asked 
the  Roman  Catholic  clergy  of  the  cathedral,  Marl- 
borough Street  (seeing  about  80  per  cent,  of  the 
outcasts  belong  to  theu'  Church),  if  they  would  co- 
operate with  them  in  dealing  with  this  great  evil.     A 

NEGATIVE  ANSWER  WAS  GIVEN." 

Thus  the  praiseworthy  efforts  of  the  energetic  Pro- 
testants were  slighted  and  discountenanced  by  the 
Catholic  ministers  of  religion,  who,  to  use  their  own 
well-known  phrase,  "  have  the  spiritual  charge  "  of  nine- 
tenths  of  the  degraded  inhabitants  of  this  degraded 
area  !  It  is,  I  find,  a  never-failing  characteristic  of  that 
species  of  unpractical  Christianity,  commonly  known 
as  "  practical  Catholicity,"  that  vice  flourishes  side  by 
side  with  it  wherever  it  is  to  be  found.  This  degraded 
area,  inhabited  by  poor  women,  who  live  by  this  lowest 
of  all  trades,  and  lower  men  who  live  upon  the  earn- 
ings of  those  women,  and  who  act  as  their  bullies 
and  protectors,  contains  numbers  of  respectable,  "  prac- 
tical Catholics,"  whom  you  will  see  crowding  into 
all  the  masses  at  the  pro-cathedral.  You  will  see 
hundreds  of  them  standing  outside  the  edifice  bare- 
headed, while  the  collectors  walk  about  amongst  them 
rattling  their  collecting-boxes,  thus  complying  with 
the  precept  of  the  Church,  which  orders  them  to  go 
to  mass  under  penalty  of  mortal  sin,  on  all  Sundays 
and  "  holy  days  of  obligation."  What  enlightenment 
is  there  for  them  in  such  procedure  ?  Yet,  that  is  all 
of  religion  and  all  of  Christian  teaching  which  those 
poor  people  receive !     Those  who  arc  vnthin  the  edifice 


The  Pro-Cathedral,  Dublin 

"Standing  outside  the  edifice  baie-heaiied,  wliile  tlie  collectors  walk  about  amongst 
them,  rattling  their  collecting-boxes,  &c."  (p.  290). 


"PRACTICAL  CATHOLICS'  291 

hear  the  miimbhng  of  the  distant  priest,  the  tinkhng 
of  the  bell.  They  remain  for  twenty  or  twenty- 
five  minutes,  herded  together  like  animals,  coughing, 
sneezing,  and  expectorating ;  some  of  them  thumping 
their  breasts  and  turning  up  the  whites  of  their  eyes, 
others  of  them  fingering  rosary  beads,  others  squeezed 
close  to  the  rails  of  the  said  altar,  one  perhaps  out  of  a 
dozen  reading  a  prayer-book ;  all  eagerly  impatient  for 
the  brief,  formal  mass  to  be  over,  so  that  they  may 
get  out  again  into  the  light  and  the  fresh  air.  JMany 
of  the  denizens  of  Mecklenburgh  Street,  who  live  by 
prostitution,  we  may  be  sure,  take  full  advantage  of 
the  privileges  of  the  confessional ;  and  a  great  many 
of  them,  I  have  no  doubt,  manage  to  die  with  all  the 
consolations  of  their  religion,  "  fortified  by  the  rites  of 
Holy  Church,"  as  it  is  put. 

What  hope  can  there  be  for  a  country  where  such 
doings  as  this  are  sanctioned  and  regarded  as  the 
ordained  law  of  God  ?  What  hope  can  there  be  for  a 
country  whose  leading  people,  both  clerical  and  lay,  are 
parties  to  such  an  institution  as  this  ?  There  can  be 
but  one  end  to  it,  and  that  end  is  approaching  every 
day  before  our  eyes.  It  is  the  end  which  has  fallen 
upon  Southern  Italy,  and  upon  Spain.  It  is  the  end 
which  has  inevitably  come  for  every  nation  that  sur- 
rendered itself  to  such  courses.  The  signs  of  the 
end  are  a  decreasing  population ;  and  a  remnant  of 
people  still  left  in  the  country  who  are  becoming  more 
degenerate  and  more  helpless  year  by  year,  sinking 
deeper  and  deeper  under  the  mental  slavery  of  the  rule 
of  the  monk.  Should  not  the  desertion  of  that  creed  of 
mental  slavery  by  the  self-respecting  and  the  thought- 
ful amongst  the  emigrants,  when  they  leave  Ireland, 
which  Father  Shinnors,  the  Oblate,  admits  to  be  in 
full  swing,  help  us  at  home  to  realise  our  unenviable 


292  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

position  ?  Such  deceitfulness  to  God  and  to  self, 
such  a  surrender  of  conscience,  responsibility,  and  mind 
itself  to  a  selfish  priesthood  lead  surely  to  degeneracy 
and  decay,  and  to  the  level  of  the  poor  Italian  "  dago." 
Decadent,  idle,  rich  people,  who  revel  in  every  in- 
dulgence, including  the  luxury  of  religion,  may  amuse 
themselves  with  priestcraft  if  they  will ;  but  the  honest, 
hard-working,  good  people  who  form  the  backbone  of 
the  United  Kingdom  and  the  United  States,  if  they 
mean  their  children  to  advance,  cannot  afford  to 
submit  to  it.  What  Ireland  wants — and  what  I  hope 
it  may  yet  find  in  Catholicity — is  a  religion  which 
can  be  applied,  with  the  result  of  strengthening  the 
character,  to  every  incident  of  a  man's  or  woman's 
daily  life.  Mere  form  will  not,  must  not,  suffice  any 
longer ;  and  a  present  proof  of  its  inefficacy  is  supplied 
by  this  Mecklenburgh  Street  area,  where  so  many  of 
those  who  conform  are  steeped  up  to  the  lips  in 
everything  that  is  lowest  of  the  vices  that  debase 
humanity.  Those  poor  people  are  neither  good  for 
king  nor  country ;  but — and  it  is  a  very  large  "  but," 
for  it  covers  everything  in  this  book — they  seem  to  be 
good  for  the  priests ! 

The  signatories  to  the  circular  finally  go  on  to  say : — 

"Not  to  be  daunted,  some  of  the  Protestant  clergy 
and  friends — having  already  taken  over  the  control  of 
the  midnight  mission  and  house  of  refuge  for  outcasts 
— determined  to  take  more  aggressive  steps  by  way  of 
carrying  the  Gospel  to  our  unfortunate  sisters  in  those 
haunts  of  sin.  .  .  .  For  six  months  two  ladies  have  been 
engaged  in  this  very  trying  and  difficult  work.  Be- 
tween 200  and  300  separate  teas  have  been  given  to 
women  who  came  into  the  mission.  Prayer  has  been 
engaged  in  and  counsel  given." 

All  praise  be  to  those  two  ladies,  and  to  the  men  who 
are  working  with  them.     They  are  the  sort  of  people 


THE  MIDNIGHT   MISSION  293 

who  are  stoned  in  the  Phoenix  Park  on  Sunday.  They 
are  the  sort  of  people  whom,  forsooth,  their  stoners  are 
taught  to  look  upon  as  worshippers  of  an  apostate  monk 
and  a  degenerate  nun,  who  lived  together  in  a  life  of 
fornication.  Is  it  not  heart-rending  that  the  priests 
of  Ireland,  stoled  and  surpliced  in  their  pulpits,  can 
utter  such  strife-breedinsr  calumnies,  live  in  comfort 
in  the  midst  of  all  the  sin  and  misery  which  surrounds 
their  residences,  and  preach  such  a  gospel  of  disunion 
and  degradation  with  the  acquiescence  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  laity  of  our  so-called  island  of  saints  and 
scholars  ?  Oh,  weak,  blind,  Catholic  Ireland,  whose 
nominal  patriots,  tied  to  the  apron-strings  of  the 
priests,  are  never  done  crying  out : — 

"  Ou  our  side  is  Virtue  and  Eriu  ; 
On  theirs  is  the  Saxon  and  Guilt !  " 

This  midnight  mission,  this  oasis  in  a  desert  of  vice, 
I  find,  is  situated  at  81  Lower  Tyrone  Street.  The 
name  reminds  me  that  our  Dublin  Catholic  Corpora- 
tion's contribution  to  the  reclamation  of  this  unhappy 
swamp  consisted  m  changing  the  name  of  the  street 
from  "  Mccklenburgh  Street  "  to  "  Tyrone  Street  "  ! 
They  changed  the  navic,  but  they  left  the  thin//  as  it 
was.  It  is  true  that,  in  this  area,  the  corporation  are 
at  present  building  a  block  of  artisan  dwellings  as  the 
outcome  of  the  visit  to  the  district  by  Sir  Thomas  Pile, 
in  1 899,  referred  to  above.  And  it  will  be  an  interesting 
experiment  to  watch  ;  for  it  remains  to  be  seen  whether 
the  Yoshiwari  will  corrupt  the  inhabitants  of  the 
artisan  dwellings,  or  whether  the  inhabitants  of  the 
artisan  dwellings  will  reclaim  the  sinners  of  the  Yoshi- 
loaH.  A  minority  of  good  people  are  always  likely  to 
fall  when  surrounded  by  a  vicious  majority.  Therefore 
no  sensible  person  who  could  procure  a  house  or  a  room 


294  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

in  any  respectable  part  of  Dublin  would  be  wise  in 
remaining  in  this  Yoshiwari  district.  But  if  the 
wisdom  of  the  corporation  experiment  is  open  to 
question,  what  can  we  think  of  the  action  of  the 
Catholic  priests  who  built  an  expensive  National  School 
right  in  the  heart  of  this  Yoshiwari,  some  years  ago  ? 
They  might  have  placed  their  school  in  a  healthy 
position  within  five  minutes'  walk  of  where  it  stands, 
and  the  mere  getting  of  the  children  out  of  the  infected 
area  during  school-hours  would  in  itself  have  been  a 
blessing  to  them.  But  instead  of  doing  so,  the  priests 
planted  their  schools  right  in  the  middle  of  the  houses 
of  ill-fame.  And  children  from  semi-depraved  localities, 
and,  indeed,  from  homes  which  are  not  depraved  at 
all — for  there  are  many  respectable  poor  condemned  to 
live  in  this  unholy  ground — are  brought  by  the  force  of 
circumstances  to  attend  this  school  in  this  outrageous 
locality.  As  for  thinking  that  ine  poor  children  who 
attend  this  school  are  at  all  improved  by  its  establish- 
ment, beyond,  perhaps,  learning  how  to  write  letters  and 
read  print,  such  a  hope  must  be  out  of  the  question. 
Close  beside,  almost  within  the  very  region,  but  by  no 
means  in  so  vile  a  situation,  are  the  Education  Board's 
National  Schools,  known  as  the  Central  Model  Schools. 
The  teachers  in  those  central  schools  are  for  the  most 
part  Catholic,  but  the  schools  are  unsectarian,  and  there 
is  therefore  a  fair  sprinkling  of  respectable  Protestant 
children  attending  them.  Was  it  to  prevent  the  poor 
Catholic  children  of  this  awful  area  from  getting  such 
wider  enlightenment  as  would  fall  to  their  lot  from 
attendance  at  the  unsectarian,  well-managed  Central 
Model  Schools  that  the  new  St.  Patrick's  Schools  were 
built  in  Tyrone  Street,  to  rivet  those  children  in  the 
degraded  area  where  they  were  so  unfortunate  as  to 
have  been  born  ? 


THE    YOSHIWARI  SCHOOLS  295 

Let  the  reader  realise  for  himself  the  truth  of  my 
statements  and  inferences  from  the  following  report : — 

"To-day,  in  the  Northern  Police  Court,  before  Mr. 
Mahony,  during  the  hearing  of  a  charge  of  criminal 
assault  on  a  little  girl,  it  was  mentioned  in  evidence 
that  she  was  living  in  a  respectable  street  oft'  Middle 
Gardiner  Street,  and  that  she  was  sent  to  school  to  a 
National  School  in  Lower  Tyrone  Street.  Mr.  Mahony 
strongly  commented  on  the  fact  that  the  clergy  and  the 
National  Board  of  Education  permitted  the  existence 
of  a  school  in  such  a  shockingly  imrnoral  locality,  and 
that  little  girls  were  sent  to  school  in  such  a  vile  'place. 
His  worship  said  the  school  was  in  the  centre  of  one  of 
the  worst  'plague  s2)ots  in  Ireland,  and  yet  it  was  under 
the  aegis  and  guardianship  of  the  clergy  and  the 
National  Jioard.  Children  going  to  school  had  to  pass 
several  immoral  houses,  and  in  the  centre  of  them  all 
was  this '  St.  Patrick's  National  School.'  He  thought  it 
was  monstrous,  and  that  such  a  state  of  things  was 
likely  to  pollute,  morally  speaking,  even  a  police 
barrack,  to  say  nothing  of  a  National  School.  Police 
Constable  142  C  said  that  the  school  was  attended  by 
about  200  children,  and  they  could  not  pass  to  or  from 
the  schools  without  seeing  a  great  deal  of  bad  conduct 
and  hearing  bad  language."  ^ 

Instead  of  that  Tyrone  Street  School,  therefore,  doing 
good  in  the  locality,  it  is  doing  harm  ;  instead  of  its 
establishment  reflecting  credit  upon  the  priests  who 
built  it,  it  reflects  discredit  upon  them.  If  its  founda- 
tion had  been  followed  up  by  a  personal  effort  on  the 
part  of  the  priests  to  reform  the  locality  and  its  inhabit- 
ants, then  the  school  might,  perhaps,  be  in  its  proper 
place  to-day.  But  no  determined,  general  effort  of  the 
kind  ensued.  The  locality  is  going  from  bad  to  worse, 
year  after  year,  until  at  length  our  Protestant  fellow- 
citizens,  always  ready  to  step  into  the  breach,  have  been 

^  Evening  Telegraph,  November  i8,  1901. 


296  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

forced  to  draw  public  attention  to  the  condition  of 
affairs  existing  in  the  CathoUc  pro-cathedral  parish.  I 
do  not  think  it  necessary  to  my  purpose  to  appal  the 
readers  of  this  book  with  a  long  list  of  revolting  cases 
occurring  in  this  awful  place.  I  wish,  and  I  intend, 
this  book — and  this  chapter — to  be  read  by  ladies,  who 
have  as  much  responsibility  as  the  men  of  Dublin  in 
this  matter.  The  human  act,  or  mfirmity,  which  is  at 
the  foundation  of  all  the  dreadful  scenes  of  idleness, 
vice,  debauchery,  and  misery  in  this  area  is  a  natural 
act.  It  is  the  result  of  the  sensual,  benighted  condition 
of  our  people  that  it  should  have  been  magnified  into 
one  of  the  worst  indulgences  and  vices  by  which 
humanity  is  scourged.  As  it  is  upon  women  that  the 
worst  punishment  falls,  so  it  is  upon  women  that  the 
noblest  duty  devolves  of  putting  a  stop  to  the  iniquities 
that  are  perpetrated  in  connection  with  this  weakness 
of  humanity.  I  believe  that  it  is  by  the  help  of  pure, 
sensible  women  that  this  crime  will  be  brought  within 
the  limits  of  rational  discussion,  and  finally  wither  under 
the  searchlight  of  common  sense.  I  do  not  believe  that 
men  alone  are  capable  of  dealing  effectually  with  it. 
Therefore  it  is,  holding  such  views,  that  I  consider  the 
action  of  the  two  ladies  who  have  attached  themselves 
to  this  Tyrone  Street  mission,  as  heroic  in  the  extreme. 
It  is  conduct  indeed  worthy  of  the  golden  age  of 
Christianity.  I  do  not  know  who  they  are,  but  I  wish 
there  were  thousands  of  ladies  ready  to  do  and  dare 
what  they  have  done  and  dared  in  that  midnight 
mission  in  Tyrone  Street. 

I  shall  give  one  other  instance  of  the  work  and 
surroundings  of  these  Catholic  National  Schools  in 
Tyrone  Street,  miscalled  after  St.  Patrick,  the  patron 
saint  of  Ireland.  The  streets  mentioned  in  this  case 
are  all  in  the  area  with  which  wc  are  dealing : — 


THE   LITTLE   GIRLS  297 

"  Yesterday,  in  the  Northern  Divisional  PoUce  Court, 
before  Mr.  Mahony,  two  girls,  M.  E.  F.  and  J.  H,, 
Lower  Gloucester  Street,  both  of  whom  are  between 
thirteen  and  fourteen  years  of  age,  were  charged, 
in  custody,  by  Constable  Costigan  (79  C)  with  the 
larceny  of  a  saw  and  chisel,  which  they  were  alleged  to 
have  taken  from  a  girl  named  N.  M.,  Lower  Gardiner 
Street,  and  to  have  pawned  in  a  pawn  office  in  Upper 
Buckingham  Street. 

"  Constable  Donohue  (70  C)  stated  that  between 
twelve  and  one  o'clock  one  night  last  November 
he  found  the  two  prisoners  in  an  open  ludl  in 
Lower  Gloucester  Street.  He  conveyed  them  to  their 
homes. 

"  School  Attendance  Inspector  Dowd  was  examined, 
and  stated  that  the  girl  F.,  who  was  in  the  fifth 
class,  had  been  at  school  only  three  days  during  the 
past  year.  The  girl  H.,  who  was  in  the  fifth  class,  had 
attended  school  on  twenty-four  days  during  the  past 
half-year. 

"  Mr.  Mahony  asked  what  school  they  went  to. 

"  Inspector  Dowd — Tyrone  Street  School. 

"  Mr.  Mahony  said  that  perhaps  it  was  as  well  that 
they  did  not  attend  more  frequently  at  Tyrone  Street 
School. 

"The  father  of  the  girl  H.  said  he  could  get  no  good 
of  his  daughter.  She  remained  out  at  night,  and  he 
believed  tins  was  because  she  went  to  Tyrone  Street 
School.  He  thought  it  was  a  very  bad  thing  to  have  a 
school  there. 

"  Mr.  Mahony — I  think  so  too.  I  agree  with  you.  I 
have  said  so  before.     It  is  a  public  disgrace. 

"The  stepmother  of  the  girl  F.  stated  that  the  latter 
pawned  the  boots  off  her  feet  on  several  occasions,  and 
that  she  remained  out  at  night. 

"  Mr.  Mahony  said  that  both  girls  should  go  to 
Monaghan  Reformatory  for  five  years."  There,  as  we 
know,  the  Sisters  of  St.  Louis  will  get  £2$  each  per 
annum  for  them.  "  He  was  glad  to  say  that  he  adopted 
that  course  with  the  approval  of  the  father  of  one  of 
them  in  order  that  they  should  be  removed  from  the 


298  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

possibility  of  being  sent  to  that  school  in  Tyrone  Street 
if  for  no  other  reason.  That  place  ivas  a  centre  of 
'pollution  for  the  children  of  the  north  side  of  the  city. 
Mr.  Brady,  solicitor,  said  that  school  ought  to  be  closed 
and  another  site  procured.  There  was  a  proposal  to 
erect  artisans'  dwellings  there,  but  that  would  only  con- 
taminate the  artisans.  That  was  the  idea  about  the 
Montgomery  Street  area.  Mr.  Mahony  said  that  upon 
the  admission  of  the  parents  of  the  girls  their  depravity 
was  considerably  due,  and  in  the  opinion  of  the  father 
of  one  of  them  it  was  altogether  due,  to  being  educated 
at  the  Tyrone  Street  School." 

Arising  out  of  the  inspector's  statement  that  one  of 
those  little  girls  only  attended  school  three  days  out 
of  the  whole  year,  let  me  say  that  it  was  only  after 
long  hesitation  that  the  Dublin  Corporation  decided  to 
adopt  the  Compulsory  Education  Act ;  and  they  did  so 
without  any  encouragement  from  the  priests  of  the 
city,  who  pooh-poohed  it,  and,  wherever  they  could 
safely  do  so,  opposed  its  adoption.  But  in  a  city  con- 
taining so  many  members  of  the  Reformed  Church, 
and,  indeed,  where  the  Catholics  themselves,  com- 
paratively speaking,  are  enlightened  and  fearless,  the 
priests  dare  not  openly  denounce  the  Act,  as  they  did 
in  other  parts  of  Ireland,  where  the  Catholic  laity  are 
less  independent. 

I  find  it  stated  in  a  circular  issued  by  the  Council 
of  the  Evangelical  Alliance,  whose  office  is  close  by  at 
Lower  Abbey  Street,  that  in  their  opinion  "  parents 
in  too  many  cases  are  relieved  of  the  duty  of  main- 
taining their  children,  and,  in  fact,  profit  by  their  own 
misconduct."  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  this  remark 
applies  in  the  specific  cases  which  I  have  just  given ; 
but  it  is  undoubtedly  a  fact  that,  not  alone  do  Dublin 
parents  seek  to  get  rid  of  the  responsibility  of  rearing 
their  children,  but  they  are  encouraged  to  do  so  by  the 


CRIME  IN  THE  CITY  299 

priests,  monks,  and  nuns  who  run  the  Catholic  reforma- 
tories, orphanages,  and  industrial  schools,  and  who 
receive  a  State  capitation  fee  for  every  child  that  they 
can  entice  within  the  portals  of  these  places.  It  is  a 
long  concatenation  of  iniquity,  indeed ;  and  sometimes 
I  feel  inclined  to  regret  that  I  ever  took  it  upon  myself 
to  follow  up  the  countless  links  of  the  chain  of  bondage 
under  which  Ireland  is  languishing.  But  I  must  pursue 
my  weary  way  in  the  hope  that  I  may  trace  that  chain 
to  its  very  beginning,  help  to  wrench  it  from  its  posi- 
tion, and  do  my  part  to  free  my  native  land. 
This  circular  further  states  that : — 

"  Children  who  have  been  educated  for  years  at  the 
public  expense  fall  into  crime  for  want  of  protection 
after  leaving  institutions  in  which  they  have  been 
trained." 

I  have  often  heard  it  said  that  the  children,  boys  and 
girls,  who  come  out  of  priests'  industrial  schools  are  help- 
less weaklings,  as  a  rule,  who  are  unable  to  stand  alone. 
The  sum  of  Dublin  vice  and  crime — of  which  the 
existence  of  this  dreadful  area  in  our  city  is  the  chief 
but  by  no  means  the  only  evidence — is  stated  to  have 
contrasted  thus  with  other  Irish  cities  in  the  year  1897: 
serious  offences,  per  10,000  of  the  population — Dublin, 
72  ;  Cork,.  1 2  ;  Belfast,  7  ! 

And  the  Council  of  the  Evangelical  AUiance  add, 
reternng  to  this  awful  area: — 

"  In  one  district  of  the  city,  not  exceeding  one-sixth 
of  its  area,  there  have  been  6291  arrests  within  eight 
months." 

Take  the  folloAving  paragraph,  one  out  of  many  in 
the  Dublin  papers,  as  an  instance  of  the  low  value  which 
is  set  upon  human  life  in  this  region : — 

"  Early  this  morning  a  man,  clearing  a  gutter  grating 
m  Seville  Place,  found  a  bulky  parcel  stuffed  into  a 


300  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

recess,  and  on  opening  it  found  it  contained  the  body  of 
a  new-born  infant  wrapped  in  a  much  worn  piece  of 
calico."  ^ 

"  A  flow'ret  crushed  in  the  bud, 
A  nameless  piece  of  Babyhood." 

The  domestic  hfe  of  this  region  may  be  imagined 
from  the  report  of  the  following  case : — 

"  A  rough-looking  fellow,  named  M.  H.,  was  charged 
in  custody  of  Police  Constable  83  C,  with  having  com- 
mitted an  aggravated  assault  on  his  mother  at  her 
residence,  in  Mabbot  Street,  on  the  previous  night. 
It  appeared  from  the  evidence  of  Mrs.  H.  that  the 
prisoner,  who  does  not  live  with  her,  came  to  her  house, 
and  assaulted  her  with  a  chair,  which  he  smashed  on 
her  head,  afterwards  kicking  her  savagely.  On  the 
previous  occasion  he  broke  all  her  teeth,  beat  her  hus- 
band, and  got  up  in  the  night  and  threatened  the  latter's 
life  with  a  knife  and  fork.  He  had  also  received  three 
months'  imprisonment  for  assaulting  the  police.  The 
prisoner  admitted  the  assault  on  his  mother  as  described. 
He  said  it  was  too  little  for  her,  as  she  had  no  supper 
ready  for  him.  Mr.  Mahony  imposed  a  sentence  of  six 
months'  imprisonment."  ^ 

The  following  case  will  further  serve  to  illustrate  the 
social  life  of  this  region ;  this  intensely  Catholic  region, 
which  is  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  churches  and  con- 
vents, whose  bells  go  clattering  on  Sundays,  and  whose 
pulpits  ring  with  libels  on  the  first  reformers,  the  most 
fearless  and  best  of  men  : — 

"  In  the  Police  Courts  to-day  (before  Mr.  Wall,  K.C.), 
a  man,  named  M.  G.,  Upper  Tyrone  Street,  was  charged 
on  remand,  in  custody  of  Constable  36  C,  with  assault- 
ing his  wife  and  step-daughter  on  Monday  last.  Accused 
struck  his  wife  and  kicked  her  on  the  head,  while  he 
knocked  down  his  step-daughter  with  a  blow  of  a  sweep- 

'  Evening  Telegraph,  August  21,  1901.  -  Evening  Mail. 


A   LIFE   OF   CRIME  301 

ing  brush.  The  girl  in  her  evidence  said  her  stepfather 
was  an  idler.  She  supported  the  family.  His  worship 
then  read  out  the  prisoner's  record,  from  which  it 
appeared  that  he  began  his  criminal  career  on  31st 
March  1858,  when  he  got  six  calendar  months.  On  the 
2nd  December  of  the  same  year  he  got  another  six 
months.  On  the  19th  June  1861  he  got  a  similar 
sentence,  and  shortly  after  the  expiration  of  that  he  got 
three  years  for  larceny.  For  attempting  to  pick  pockets 
he  was  sentenced  to  twelve  months,  and  on  the  7th  of 
June  1 870  he  got  seven  years'  penal  servitude.  On  the 
2nd  November  1883  he  got  another  seven  years  for 
larceny.  Previous  to  that,  he  had  got,  in  1882,  two 
months  for  assault.  On  the  7th  of  the  fifth  month  in 
1 89 1 ,  three  calendar  months  for  larceny ;  in  1 896,  one 
month  for  a  similar  offence;  in  1897,  for  illegal  pos- 
session, two  calendar  months ;  in  December  last,  six 
calendar  months,  and  he  was  convicted  three  times  for 
minor  offences."  Then  the  magistrate  said,  "You  as- 
saulted this  poor  girl  in  a  savage  manner,  and  you  also 
attacked  your  wife.  For  the  assault  on  the  girl  you  will 
be  kept  in  prison  for  two  months,  and  for  the  assault 
on  your  wife  one  month."  ^ 

That  man's  career  of  crime  will  give  us  some  idea  of 
the  class  of  people  who  inhabit  the  Mecklenburgh  Street 
area.  But  it  must  not  be  imagined  that  either  prostitu- 
tion or  criminality  in  Dublin  is  exclusively  confined  to 
this  area.  If  this  disgraceful  district  and  its  population 
were  completely  lifted  out  of  the  city,  there  would  be 
left  behind  half-a-dozen  areas  in  Dublin,  whose  condi- 
tions are  so  bad  that  our  Irish  capital  would  still  be  far 
worse  than  even  a  low  average  British  city,  and  far 
worse  than  any  other  city  in  Ireland.  And,  as  in  deal- 
ing with  the  Irish  drink  question,  so  also  in  connection 
with  this  sensual  vice,  as  practised  in  Ireland,  it  is 
necessary  for  us  to  remember  that  it  is  the  ignorance 
and  the  mental  distraction  of  the  people  who  indulge  in 

•  Evening  Telegraph,  October  9,  igor. 


302  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

it  that  make  it  so  particularly  bad  for  them,  and  so 
loathsome  a  feature  in  our  social  system.  Admitting 
that  there  are  irregularities,  and  that  there  is  vice  of  a 
similar  kind  in  the  English  and  Scotch  towns,  it  is  not 
so  debasing,  because  the  people  who  indulge  in  it  are, 
as  a  rule,  engaged  in  some  kind  of  business,  and  they 
do  not  surrender  themselves  wholly  to  criminality  and 
vice.  The  entire  moral  character  is  not  vitiated.  Self- 
respect  is  not  quite  lost. 

I  do  not  palliate  the  vice.  I  do  not  even  agree  with 
those  who  believe  in  the  necessity  for  its  existence  as 
an  element  of  modern  society.  I  do  not  condone  it, 
even  to  the  limited  extent  and  in  the  controlled  form 
in  which  it  may  be  found  in  England  and  Scotland. 
But  I  say  that  there  is  the  same  difference  between  the 
evil  consequences  to  the  nation  resulting  from  this  vice 
in  Great  Britain  and  the  consequences  resulting  from 
the  same  vice  as  practised  in  Ireland,  as  there  is  between 
the  results  of  drunkenness  in  Great  Britain  and  drunken- 
ness in  Ireland.  In  Ireland,  owing  to  their  want  of 
character  and  absence  of  habits  of  industry,  the  people 
allow  themselves  to  be  completely  mastered  by  drink. 
They  abandon  themselves  to  it  with  a  gusto ;  and  their 
lives  are  those  of  slaves.  It  is  the  same  in  the  case  of 
this  sexual  vice.  There  is  no  industry  concomitant  with 
the  low  morality  of  those  low  parts  of  Dublin  we  are 
dealing  with.  There  are  many  parts  of  Great  Britain 
with  a  low  moral  tone,  but  one  always  finds  that  there 
is  some  industry  being  carried  on  in  those  morally  low 
localities.  And  therefore  the  people  in  those  localities 
in  England,  while  they  sin  against  themselves  and  the 
community,  do,  nevertheless,  contribute  something  to 
the  maintenance  of  society  by  their  work. 

Idleness,  ignorance,  and,  above  all,  want  of  that  prac- 
tical Christian  knowledge  possessed  by  the  people  of 


Poor  Roman  Catholic  Children,  Dublin 

'The  children  live  and  die  in  misery  despite  the  sword  of  the 
Dominican  tongue  (p.  37s). 


Poor  Roman  Catholic  Children,  Dublin 

"  How  can  the  little  Roman  Catholic  boys  and  girls  of  the  street-side,  whose 
Burroundinyis  are  so  low  and  sordid,  be  blamed  for  anything  they  do,  &c." 
(p.  277). 


CHILD   ABDUCTION  303 

Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  are  the  radical  but 
remediable  defects  which  leave  our  Irish  poor  so  utterly 
helpless  in  the  combat  Avith  this  or  any  other  vice. 

There  is  no  city  in  North  Europe  which  so  reeks 
with  derelict  young  people  of  both  sexes  as  does 
Dublin.  Girls  of  any  age,  between  twelve  and  twenty, 
are  to  be  found  in  scores,  healthy,  active,  in  good  con- 
dition, but  poorly  clad,  swarming  about  our  street 
pavements  in  the  daytime.  What  becomes  of  them 
has  often  been  a  mystery  to  me  and  to  many  others. 
They  are  all  Catholics ;  and,  despite  all  our  institu- 
tions, their  number  seems  to  be  increasing  instead  of 
decreasing. 

Let  me  give  one  instance  of  the  efforts  which  are 
made  to  recruit  the  houses  of  ill-fame  in  this  Mecklen- 
burgh  Street  area  from  other  portions  of  the  city,  and 
of  the  daring  and  effrontery  of  the  criminals.  In  Sep- 
tember 1 90 1  a  respectable  child  disappeared  from  its 
parents'  abode  at  New  Bride  Street.  The  papers  were 
full  of  the  mysterious  disappearance  of  the  child ;  and, 
for  some  time,  no  clue  could  be  obtained  as  to  its 
whereabouts.  It  was  taken  from  its  home  in  broad 
daylight  by  a  woman  who  lived  in  a  house  of  ill-fame 
at  Elliott  Place,  which  is  probably  the  worst  of  the 
many  bad  streets  in  the  Mecklenburgh  Street  area. 
Let  the  reader  decide  what  the  motive  of  the  abduction 
was : — 

"  Yesterday,  in  the  Southern  Divisional  Police  Court, 
before  Mr.  Swifte,  a  dissipated-looking  woman  was  put 
forward,  charged  by  Court  Sergeant  Tanner,  1 3  A,  with 
having  kidnapped  a  child,  aged  3  years  and  9  months, 
from  its  parents'  residence,  on  Tuesday  morning.  The 
greatest  interest  was  taken  in  the  proceedings,  and  the 
court  was  crowded. 

"Sergeant  Tanner  deposed  that  he  arrested  the 
prisoner  on  the  charge  of  having  kidnapped  the  child 


304  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

which  she  had  with  her.  The  prisoner  admitted  having 
taken  the  child,  and  brought  it  to  Elliott  Place,  where 
she  kept  it  on  Tuesday  night.  He  made  inquiries, 
and  was  informed  that  the  woman  and  child  stayed 
on  Tuesday  night  at  No.  —  Elliott  Place,  which  is  a 
house  of  ill-fame. 

"  The  child's  mother  deposed  that  at  half-past  eleven 
o'clock  on  Tuesday  morning  she  saw  her  child  in  the 
hall,  and  shortly  afterwards  missed  her.  She  did  not 
see  the  child  again  until  the  police  brought  it  to  her  on 
Wednesday  evening. 

"  A  girl,  aged  ten  years,  stated  that  on  Tuesday  morn- 
ing she  saw  the  prisoner  in  the  hall  of  the  house,  where 
both  she  and  the  stolen  child's  family  resided.  She 
afterwards  saw  the  prisoner  having  the  child  placed  on 
a  seat  in  front  of  the  buildings.  Witness  went  into  her 
house  and  came  out  soon  afterwards  and  found  that  the 
woman  and  child  were  gone. 

"  Miss  M.  M.  stated  that  while  standing  at  her  shop 
door  on  Tuesday  she  saw  the  prisoner  and  the  child 
walk  past.  She  had  known  the  child  previously. 
The  prisoner  wore  a  blue  mackintosh  with  a  cape, 
and  was  dressed  like  a  nurse.  Mr.  Swifte  sent  the 
prisoner  for  trial."  ^ 

Not  only  do  we  find  this  woman,  well  dressed  in 
her  "  blue  mackintosh  with  a  cape,"  presenting  the 
outward  appearance  of  a  nurse,  with  plenty  of  money 
to  hire  a  cab,  thus  carrying  off  a  respectable  child 
in  the  light  of  open  day,  but  we  find  her  also  in 
company  with,  and  engaged  in  intercourse  with,  two 
little  girls  of  the  derelict  class  I  have  referred  to, 
whom  she  encounters  on  the  street  side,  and  whom 
she  charges  with  having  stolen  her  purse. 

"  The  solicitor  who  appeared  for  the  defence  said 
this  was  one  of  the  most  audacious  cases  he  ever 
heard  of.  Here  was  a  well-known  woman  of  bad 
character,  who  had  the  audacity  to  accuse  these  two 

^  Freeman's  Jmirnal,  September  20,  1901. 


A  DEN   OF  IMMORALITY  305 

children  of  snatching  her  purse,  containing  five  shil- 
lings. To  give  appearance  to  herself,  when  she  made 
the  charge  she  had  a  very  well-dressed  child  in  her 
arms — a  child  which  subsequently  proved  to  be  the 
identical  child  which  she  had  kidnapped.  The  result 
was  that  the  girls  were  remanded.  The  woman  had 
been  charged  on  Monday  for  loitering,  and  she  had 
the  impudence  to  tell  the  chief  magistrate  that  she 
would  go  to  America  immediately  with  her  brother- 
in-law."     The  charge  was  dismissed. 

This  abandoned  woman  was  "  loitering  "  on  Monday 
— prowling  about  the  city — and  was  let  off  by  the 
magistrate ;  bat  she  resumes  her  quest  on  Tuesday, 
captures  this  child,  and  takes  it  home  to  her  lair 
in  Elliott  Place  in  a  cab ;  meets  the  two  other  girls 
on  Wednesday,  and,  through  them,  is  brought  into 
contact  with  the  police  once  more. 

Some  days  afterwards  the  woman  was  tried  before 
the  Recorder  on  the  charge  of  abduction,  and  the  follow- 
ing is  the  report  of  the  proceedings,  from  which  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  Recorder  adds  his  testimony  to  that  of 
the  police  magistrate,  Mr.  Mahony,  and  of  Sir  Thomas 
Pile,  Bart.,  ex-lord  mayor,  as  to  the  state  of  things 
existing  in  the  Mecklonburgh  Street  area  in  the  pro- 
cathedral  parish,  describing  the  place  as  "  one  of  the 
most  dreadful  dens  of  immorality  in  Europe  "  : — 

"  To-day,  in  the  Recorder's  Court,  F.  P.  was  indicted 
for  having,  on  the  17th  September,  feloniously  taken 
a  certain  child.  The  prisoner  was  undefended.  The 
Recorder  said  it  was  an  atrocious  case  to  contemplate, 
the  kidnapping  of  this  little  child,  and  the  bringing 
it  to  this  terrible  den  of  infamy  in  which  she  lived. 
The  prisoner  was  at  once  found  guilty. 

"  The  Recorder  said  he  looked  upon  this  thing  as 
perfectly  awful — to  take  this  child  from  its  respectable 
home,  from  its  mother's  residence,  and  bring  it  to  one 
of  the  most  dreadful  dens  of  immorality  in  Europe. 

u 


3o6  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

He  was  not,  however,  quite  satisfied  as  to  wliat  could 
have  been  the  object  of  the  prisoner. 

"  Mr.  Campbell  said  that  the  only  thing  that  might 
be  suggested  on  the  part  of  the  prisoner  was  that  if  she 
had  intended  to  extort  money  or  anything  of  that  sort 
she  would  not  have  gone  down  to  the  police  courts. 

"  The  Recorder  said,  under  all  the  circumstances  he 
could  do  no  less  than  sentence  the  prisoner  to  twelve 
months'  imprisonment,  with  hard  labour."  ^ 

The  child  was  not  taken  with  the  intention  of  extort- 
ing money  as  ransom  from  the  parents ;  neither  was  it 
taken  with  intent  to  murder.  Let  the  considerate  reader 
piece  the  facts  of  this  case  together : — This  woman 
of  forty-five  years,  emerging  from  the  awful  locality 
in  which  she  carries  on  her  trade,  spending  the  Monday 
in  loitering  about  Dublin,  and  coming  into  contact  on 
Tuesday  with  a  respectable  child  of  four  years  of  age 
whom  she  kidnaps,  and  on  Wednesday  with  those  two 
street-side  girls,  against  whom  she  brings  a  charge  of 
theft.  Was  that  charge  of  theft  made  with  the  object 
of  coercing  those  girls  also  to  accompany  her  ?  and  was 
it  persevered  in  by  her  as  a  matter  of  necessity,  having 
once  been  entered  upon  ?  It  is  something  to  be  thank- 
ful for  that  the  police  seem  to  have  had  their  eye 
on  her  proceedings  throughout.  Her  encounter  with 
those  young  girls,  taken  in  conjunction  with  the 
facts  reported  in  that  other  case,  where  the  two  girls, 
F.  and  H.,  aged  between  thirteen  and  fourteen,  were 
found  by  the  constable  at  one  o'clock  at  night  in  an 
open  hall  at  Lower  Gloucester  Street,  gives  us  a  lurid 
insight  into  the  abandoned  condition  in  which  the 
young  Roman  Catholic  girls  of  this  district  are  allowed 
to  grow  up.  We  may  gather  from  the  report  of  the 
Midnight  Mission  that  in  the  case  of  some,  at  least, 
of  the  girls]in  those  houses  of  ill-fame  they  have  to  be 

1  Evening  Telegraph,  September  26,  1901. 


THE  WORST  OF  IT  307 

detained  forcibly  as  prisoners — which  would  be  credit- 
able to  the  girls.  But  it  proves  that  it  would  therefore 
be  a  matter  of  prime  importance  to  their  keepers  that 
the  girls  should  be  procured  while  very  young,  so  as 
to  achieve  their  complete  subjection. 

The  luxuriant  growth  of  such  a  jungle  of  crime  is 
a  dansfer,  not  alone  to  Dublin,  but  to  all  Ireland. 
It  would  be  the  proper  duty  of  the  Councils  and  local 
Boards  throughout  the  country  to  call  for  its  abolition, 
instead  of  passing  resolutions  worrying  railway  com- 
panies, demanding  university  endoAvments  for  priests, 
Catholic  chaplains  for  the  navy,  and  acting  as  cat's- 
paws  for  the  bishops  and  priests.  It  would  be  a  greater 
gain  to  Ireland  to  achieve  the  reformation  of  Mecklen- 
burgh  Street  area  by  the  exertions  and  teaching  of  the 
Catholic  clergy  and  laity,  than  the  greatest  imaginary 
advantage  which  the  most  intense  Nationalist  hopes  for 
from  the  granting  of  Home  Rule.  "  Political  rights," 
says  Dr.  Smiles,  "  however  broadly  framed,  will  not 
elevate  a  people  individually  depraved."  And  again, 
"  Political  morality  can  never  have  any  solid  existence 
on  a  basis  of  individual  immorality." 

The  most  deplorable  fact  connected  with  the  con- 
tinued existence  of  such  a  luxuriant  crop  of  individual 
crhne  and  misery  in  Dublin  is  that  it  should  flourish 
in  a  preserved  ground  without  opposition,  and  side  by 
side  with  the  enormous  army  of  priests  and  nuns  who 
overspread  the  Irish  capital.  Many  benevolent  Pro- 
testants, taking  a  superficial  view  of  this  problem  of 
Dublin  misery,  imagine  that  the  swarming  communi- 
ties of  friars  and  nuns  exist  for  and  result  in  the  reHef 
of  the  poor  and  the  improvement  of  the  erring.  Un- 
happily it  is  not  so.  Nay,  I,  a  Catholic,  am  forced  to 
the  conclusion,  to  put  it  squarely  and  roughly,  that  these 
communities  result  in  the  perpetuation  of  poverty,  and 


3o8  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

idleness,  and  sin ;  and  that  the  existence  of  all  this 
penury,  indolence,  and  vice  is  appealed  to  as  evidence 
to  prove  the  necessity  for  the  communities  of  friars  and 
nuns. 

There  is  a  softness  in  our  Irish  character,  and  a  lean- 
ing towards  those  who  idle ;  a  sentiment  which,  at  first 
sight,  may  appear  estimable,  but  which  works  out  badly 
for  the  community.  It  is  to  it  that  we  must  attribute 
the  vast  sums  of  hard-earned  money  which  are  yearly 
bestowed  upon  priests  and  nuns ;  and,  in  equal  degree, 
it  is  to  this  Irish  trait  that  we  may  attribute  the 
donation,  leakage,  or  expenditure  of  money  which  sup- 
ports the  vagrant  and  criminal  idlers  of  the  city.  The 
home-keeping  Irishman  has  never  succeeded  in  getting 
himself  sufficiently  far  away  from  the  clutch  of  idleness 
and  degeneracy  to  feel  perfectly  safe  from  them ;  and 
therefore  he  sympathises  with  those  who  are  victims  to 
such  vices.  The  Englishman,  on  the  contrary,  having 
for  centuries  been  out  of  touch  with  those  failings,  has 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  there  is  no  necessity  in 
human  nature  for  a  man  to  succumb  to  them,  and  his 
heart  is  hard  against  those  who  fall  a  prey  to  vice  and 
indolence  on  that  account. 

There  are  thousands  of  hard-working  men  and  women 
in  Dublin ;  but,  for  one  hard-working,  honest  man,  you 
will  find  several  semi-idlers  and  several  complete  idlers. 
How  they  all  live  is  a  standing  mystery,  and  a  per- 
plexing problem  to  every  serious  man  who  suffers  his 
mind  to  dwell  upon  it. 

But  how  all  the  priests  and  nuns  flourish  in  such 
wealth  and  luxury  is  a  greater  mystery  still.  For,  as 
we  shall  see,  there  is  not  a  city  in  North  Europe  so 
overrun  by  male  and  female  religious  as  the  city  of 
Dublin. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE    priests'    army    IN    DUBLIN    AND    ITS    WURK 

If  wg  examine  the  standing  army  of  priests  and  nuns 
who  are  quartered  in  such  aftiuence  in  the  city  of 
Dubhn,  our  astonishment  cannot  fail  to  be  increased 
at  finding  so  much  vice  and  misery  amongst  the  poorer 
classes  of  the  Catholic  population.  The  priests  claim 
exclusive  responsibility  for  the  faith  and  morals  of  the 
Catholics,  and  thereby  choke  out  all  initiative  and 
original  effort  by  the  better-informed  of  the  Catholic 
laity  on  behalf  of  our  poor  brethren.  If  we  take  a  brief 
survey  of  the  city  we  may  satisfy  ourselves  that  it  is 
amply  supplied  with  churches  and  secular  parish  priests 
and  curates.  Let  us  start  at  the  pro-cathedral  parish, 
where  we  find  an  administrator,  the  archbishop's  deputy, 
and  7  curates.  Let  us  cross  the  river  to  the  Westland 
Row  parish,  where  we  find  another  administrator,  the 
archbishop's  deputy,  and  lo  curates.  St.  Laurence 
O'Toole's,  which  is  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Seville 
Place,  close  to  the  pro-cathedral  parish,  has  a  parish 
priest  and  3  curates ;  St.  Agatha's,  also  close  at  hand, 
extending  between  Fairview  and  the  pro-cathedral,  has 
a  parish  priest  and  2  curates.  Fairview  has  a  parish 
priest  and  4  curates ;  Clontarf  has  a  parish  priest  and 
4  curates ;  and  Baldoyle,  a  parish  priest  and  2  curates. 
Returning  to  the  heart  of  the  city,  St.  Joseph's  parish, 
Berkeley  Road,  has  a  parish  priest  and  3  curates ;  St. 
Paul's,  which  runs  from  Berkeley  Road  to  Arran  Quay, 
has  a  parish  priest  and  6  curates ;  the  parish  of  the 


310  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

Holy  Family  at  Aughrim  Street  has  a  parish  priest  and 

3  curates ;  St.  Michan's,  which  is  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Green  Street,  has  a  parish  priest  and  3  curates. 
Crossing  the  river  to  the  south  side,  we  find  in  St. 
James's  parish,  which  stretches  from  James's  Street  to 
Dolphins  Barn,  a  parish  priest  and  6  curates.  The 
four  parishes  next  following  are  coterminous  and  cover 
a  very  small  area  of  the  city,  comprising  some  very 
bad  districts :  St.  Katherine's,  Meath  Street,  a  parish 
priest  and  4  curates ;  St.  Audeon's,  High  Street,  a 
parish  priest  and  3  curates  ;  St.  Michael;  and  John's, 
Exchange  Street,  a  parish  priest  and  3  curates ;  and 
St.  Nicholas's,  Francis  Street,  a  parish  priest  and  4 
curates. 

St.  Kevin's  parish,  which  runs  from  Stephen's  Green 
to  Harrington  Street,  and  includes  the  South  Circular 
Road,  has  a  parish  priest  and  5  curates ;  Haddington 
Road,  a  parish  priest  and  3  curates ;  Donnybrook,  a 
parish  priest  and  2  curates ;  Sandymount,  a  parish 
priest  and  3  curates  ;  Booterstown,  a  parish  priest  and 

4  curates. 

Kingstown  parish  has  a  parish  priest  and  5  curates ; 
Glasthulo  and  Dalkey,  a  parish  priest  and  4  curates ; 
Ballybrack,  a  parish  priest  and  2  curates ;  Bray,  a  parish 
priest  and  5  curates. 

Rathmines  has  a  parish  priest  and  5  curates ;  Rath- 
gar,  a  parish  priest  and  4  curates ;  Terenure,  a  parish 
priest  and  2  curates ;  Rathfarnham,  a  parish  priest  and 
2  curates;  Dundrum,  a  parish  priest  and  3  curates. 
Chapclizod  has  an  administrator  and  2  curates;  Finglas, 
a  parish  priest  and  a  curate ;  Blanchardstown,  a  parish 
priest  and  2  curates.  Besides  the  foregoing,  which  are 
within  the  city  and  in  its  immediate  outskirts,  there 
are  within  the  metropolitan  county  10  other  parish 
priests  and  i  5  curates.     Thus  we  find  that  the  secular 


SECULARS  AND  REGULARS     311 

sacerdotal  organisation  in  the  city  and  the  small  county 
of  Dublin  amounts  to  an  archbishop,  an  assistant 
bishop,  43  parish  priests  and  administrators,  and  136 
curates.  There  are,  besides  these,  9  secular  priests 
in  the  Clonliffe  College  and  44  priests  filling  various 
chaplaincies.  The  total  of  secular  priests  therefore  for 
the  city  and  county  would  be  233.^ 

Even  if  there  were  no  other  priests  in  Dublin 
beyond  that  number  there  could  be  no  reasonable 
explanation  advanced  by  them  for  the  neglected  and 
deplorable  condition  of  so  many  large  areas  of  our 
Catholic  city ;  for  the  parishes  are  numerous,  small, 
and  well-manned.  But,  as  we  shall  see,  Dublin  is  not 
dependent  on  that  large  force  of  secular  priests  alone, 
for  it  supports  a  powerful  contingent  of  regular  priests 
belonging  to  various  well-known  orders  and  societies. 

We  have  the  following  Orders  established  in  our 
midst,  and  I  give  the  numerical  strength  of  each  as 
admitted  by  themselves  ^ :  There  are  the  Augustinians, 
in  Thomas  Street  and  John  Street,  who  have  also  a 
novitiate  at  Rathfarnham,  and  whose  spire  exceeds  that 
of  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral  in  height,  being  the  highest  in 
Dublin,  and  it  dominates  the  view  to  westward  from 
O'Connell  Bridge.  The  ordained  priests  in  the  Order 
in  Dublin  number  14.  Then  we  have  the  Calced 
Carmelites  at  Aungier  Street  and  Whitefriars  Street, 
who  have  also  a  Carmelite  College  at  Terenure  and  an 
Academy  at  Lower  Dominick  Street,  and  the  number 
of  whose  ordained  priests  in  Dublin  is  admitted  as  29. 
Next  come  the  Franciscan-Capuchins,  in  Church  Street, 
where  it  is  admitted  that  there  are  i  o  ordained  priests. 
Then  we  must  note  the  Discalced  Carmelites,  in  Claren- 
don   Street,   who   have   also    a  House   of    Studies   at 

'  Irish  Catholic  Directory,  1902.     Published  in   Dublin.     Edited  at 
Maynooth. 


312  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

Morehampton  Road,  and  who  admit  having  in  Dublin 
ordained  priests  to  the  number  of  i8.  We  must  not 
forget  the  Dominicans  at  Dominick  Street — where  they 
are  rapidly  clearing  away  the  shops  and  dwellings  of 
the  laity  to  make  room  for  the  additions  to  their  church 
and  priory — and  at  Tallaght,  who  admit  the  number  of 
their  ordained  priests  in  Dublin  to  be  2 1 .  And  the  Fran- 
ciscans at  Merchant's  Quay  admit  having  6  ordained 
priests  at  their  church.  The  congregation  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  of  the  Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary,  at 
Blackrock — proprietors  of  Blackrock  College— -and  at 
Rathmines,  admit  having  in  Dublin  27  ordained  priests. 
The  well-known  Society  of  Jesus,  in  Upper  Gardiner 
Street,  and  also  at  Milltown  and  at  Belvedere  College, 
Great  Denmark  Street,  and  at  the  University  College, 
Stephen's  Green,  admit  having  49  ordained  priests 
stationed  in  Dublin.  The  Marist  Fathers,  in  Lower 
Leeson  Street,  admit  having  1 1  ordained  priests  in 
Dublin.  The  Oblates  of  Mary  Immaculate,  at  Inchi- 
core,  who  have  also  a  novitiate  at  Stillorgan  and 
juniorate  at  Raheny,  admit  having  16  ordained  priests 
in  Dublin ;  and  they  have  charge  of  the  City  Reforma- 
tory at  Glencree,  where  there  are  3  ordained  priests 
in  addition.  The  Passionist  Fathers,  at  Mount  Argus, 
Harold's  Cross,  admit  having  20  ordained  priests  in 
Dublin.  The  Vincentians,  at  Phibsborough,  and  at 
Castleknock  and  at  Blackrock,  and  at  All  Hallows  Col- 
lege, Drumcondra,  and  at  the  National  Teachers'  Train- 
ing College,  Drumcondra — miscalled  the  "  Congregation 
of  the  Mission  " — admit  having  5  i  ordained  priests  in 
Dublin.  This  gives  us  a  total  of  2  7  5  ordained  regular 
priests  in  Dublin,  making,  with  the  233  seculars,  a  grand 
total  of  508  ordained  priests  in  the  city  and  county  of 
Dublin.  In  addition  there  is  the  Monastery  of  Mount 
St.  Joseph,  at  Clondalkin,  under  tlie   management  of 


WORK  DONE   BY  PRIESTS  313 

the  Carmelite  Tertiaries ;  and  St.  Joseph's  Asylum  for 
the  Blind,  at  Drumcondra,  under  the  control  of  the 
same  body.  And  there  is  the  House  of  St.  John  of 
God,  at  Stillorgan — a  private  lunatic  asylum — managed 
by  the  brothers  of  that  Order,  in  which  there  are 
two  priests  admitted,  and  a  community  of  20  monks. 
Then  there  are  the  Christian  Brothers,  whose  numbers 
are  not  admitted,  but  who  have  not  alone  their  princely 
place  at  Marino,  in  Clontarf,  once  the  residence  of  Lord 
Charlemont,  and  where  their  superior-general  now 
resides ;  but  also  a  novitiate  at  Baldoyle ;  as  well  as  the 
magniticent  O'Brien  Institute  at  Clontarf;  and  the 
enormous  industrial  schools  at  Artane ;  and  industrial 
schools  also  at  Carriglea  Park  ;  and  the  St.  Vincent's 
Orphanage,  Glasnevin ;  and  St.  Joseph's  at  Cabra  ;  and, 
in  addition,  1 1  teaching  establishments  in  the  city. 
It  should  further  be  borne  in  mind  that,  besides  the 
ordained  priests  in  all  those  religious  houses,  there  are 
also  a  number  of  lay-brothers,  novices,  and  postulants, 
of  whom  no  account  is  given  m  the  foregomg  summary, 
and  a  large  force  of  theological  students  in  ClonlifFe  and 
All  Hallows.  It  would  be  a  moderate  estimate  to  write 
down  the  number  of  male  religious  in  Dublin,  principal 
and  subsidiary,  at  1500  souls. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  nature  and  value  of  the 
work  done  by  the  priests,  secular  and  regular,  in  the 
city  of  Dublin.  The  secular  priests  of  the  city  are  re- 
sponsible for  the  faith  and  morals  of  the  Catholic  people ; 
but  they  do  nothing,  so  far  as  one  can  see,  except  go 
through  a  routine  of  ceremonials.  They  baptize  the 
Catholic  infants  which  are  brought  to  the  chapel  to 
them  for  the  purpose,  and  the  administration  of  that 
sacrament  is  a  lucrative  business,  large  fees  being  paid 
for  the  ceremony,  consisting  of  Latin  prayer  and  sprink- 
ling the  child  with  holy  water.     The  instruction  of  chil- 


314  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

dren  in  tlie  Catholic  catecliism,  wliicli  is  necessary 
before  they  can  receive  the  sacraments  of  penance, 
confirmation,  and  communion,  is  not  done  by  the 
priests,  but  by  deputies,  either  the  National  teacher, 
or  the  Christian  Brother,  or  the  nun,  or  the  monitors 
and  monitresses,  who  happen  to  be  in  chai'ge  of  the 
parish  Catholic  schools.  The  incomprehensibility  of 
the  questions  and  answers  in  our  Catholic  catechism 
makes  the  preparation  of  children  for  an  examination 
in  its  contents  a  most  unpleasant  duty.  Few,  if  any, 
adult  Roman  Catholics  of  intelligence  can  answer  a 
single  question  in  that  catechism.  Indeed,  owing  to 
the  meaninglessness  of  its  definitions,  it  is,  perhaps,  the 
most  repugnant  work  which  teachers  and  children  have 
to  do  at  school.  The  secular  priests'  work,  then,  so  far 
as  those  three  essential  sacraments  are  concerned,  con- 
sists in  {a)  hearing  the  confessions  of  those  who  ap- 
proach the  sacrament  of  penance,  (h)  distributing  the 
sacred  particles  to  those  who  approach  the  sacrament  of 
the  eucharist,  and  (c)  marshalling  the  children  in  the 
chapel  on  the  day  the  bishop  comes  to  administer  con- 
firmation. Confessions  are  heard  at  stated  hours  in 
the  chapel ;  and  the  priest  goes  into  the  confession-box 
and  sits  there  during  those  hours  if  a  sufficient  number 
of  people  come  to  fill  up  the  time.  The  hours  of  con- 
fession are,  as  a  rule,  in  the  afternoons,  on  the  eve  of 
holidays  of  obligation,  and  on  the  afternoons  of  Satur- 
day. The  work  is  an  entirely  formal  one.  And  the 
greater  the  number  of  people  whom  the  priest  sees 
seated  in  a  row  outside  the  box,  waiting  to  confess  to 
him,  the  shorter  will  be  the  time  that  he  will  devote  to 
each  penitent ;  but,  God  willing,  the  confessional  must 
be  dealt  with  separately  in  another  volume. 

The  distribution  of  the  sacrament  of  holy  communion 
consists  of  a  few  minutes'  work  after  each  of  the  early 


SICK  CALLS  315 

masses.    And  in  connection  with  the  sacrament  of  con- 
firmation the  priest  has  httle,  if  any,  work  at  all. 

The  fifth  sacrament,  in  connection  with  which  the 
priest  makes  the  greatest  parade  of  his  duties,  is  the 
sacrament  of  extreme  unction,  which,  as  we  all  know, 
consists  of  anointing  certain  parts  of  the  body  with  oil, 
and  reciting  a  few  Latin  fornmLne  or  prayers.  This  is 
the  portion  of  his  work  which  the  priest  terms  "  sick- 
call  "  duty.  One  of  the  curates  is  told  off  in  rotation  in 
every  parish  to  attend  to  sick-calls ;  and  he  is  stricter 
and  more  punctilious  about  the  performance  of  that 
duty  than  if  he  were  a  relieving  officer  or  dispensary 
doctor.  The  people  are  continually  warned  from  the 
altar  and  by  printed  notices  in  the  chapels  that  the 
sick-calls  must  be  handed  in  before  a  certain  hour  on 
the  morning  of  each  day,  otherwise  they  cannot  be 
attended  to ;  and  in  the  case  of  poor  people,  this  pre- 
cept is  ruthlessly  carried  out.  I  can  never  remember 
a  time  when  I  did  not  consider  the  proceeding  a  most 
churlish  one  on  the  part  of  the  priests.  If  the  priests 
attach  all  the  importance  they  allege  to  the  adminis- 
tration of  this  sacrament,  then  the  priest  on  duty 
should  only  be  too  glad  to  place  himself  at  the  disposal 
of  persons  requiring  his  services  at  any  hour.  So  far 
from  that  being  the  case,  this  service  is  rendered  to  the 
poor  as  grudgingly  as  an  overworked  dispensary  doctor 
sets  out  to  attend  the  call  of  a  red  ticket.  Priests  often 
refuse  to  go  to  sick-calls  at  night  unless  the  demand  for 
their  doing  so  is  most  peremptory,  and  comes  from  a 
source  of  which  they  stand  in  dread.  When  a  priest 
pays  this  formal  sick-call,  he  considers  his  duty  done. 
He  has  unlocked  the  treasures  of  the  Church,  and  he 
cares  and  does  no  more  for  the  individual  or  family. 
How  hurriedly  the  bedside  confession  is  gone  through, 
how  quickly  the  anointing  is  done  !     The  sick-calls  are 


3i6  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

not  as  numerous  as  one  would  imagine  from  the  amount 
of  uproar  which  the  priests  raise  about  them. 

The  sixth  sacrament,  matrimony,  is  the  one  above  all 
others  in  which  the  priest  exhibits  his  intolerance  of 
our  fellow-Christians  of  the  Reformed  Churches.  Our 
priests  absolutely  refuse  to  celebrate  a  marriage  between 
a  Catholic  and  a  Protestant.  Slights,  indignities,  and 
blackmail  are  put  upon  the  Catholic  who  desires  a 
religious  ceremony.  There  is  no  fixed  fee  for  marriages 
in  general,  but  the  priest  leaves  no  effort  untried  to 
get  as  much  money  as  he  possibly  can  out  of  the 
couple  who  intend  to  get  married.  Here,  in  Dublin, 
extortion  for  marriages  is  not  so  rife  as  it  is  in 
the  country  districts.  But  an  amount  of  fees  which 
would  astonish  any  Protestant  has  to  be  paid  before 
the  marriage  rite  will  be  performed,  even  in  Dublin, 
for  people  who  are  considered  to  be  in  a  position  of 
even  decent  competence.  Nuptial  mass  is  now  a 
general  accompaniment  of  the  marriage  ceremony,  and 
it  costs  money ;  for  no  generous  young  bridegroom  could 
think  of  suffering  any  priest  to  take  part  in  it  without 
a  fee.  Here  are  a  few  instances  of  such  masses,  in  one 
of  which  five  priests  took  part  and  in  the  other  no  less 
than  eight  priests  and  a  bishop : — 

"O'B.  and  H. — January  9,  at  St.  Mary's  Church, 
Ballyhaunis,  with  nuptial  mass  by  the  Rev.  T.  Sharkey, 
C.C.,  Castlerea  (cousin  of  the  bride),  assisted  by  Rev.  J. 
Grealy,  Rev.  P.  Flynn,  Rev.  Father  Brady,  and  Rev. 
W.  Carrivan,  Daniel  J.  O'B,,  Durrow,  to  A,  E.,  second 
daughter  of  R.  H.,  Ballyhaunis."  ^ 

"  G.  and  G. — February  6,  at  the  Cathedral,  Ballina, 
by  Rev.  J.  Naughton,  Adm.,  cousin  of  the  bride,  in  the 
presence  of  his  Lordship  Most  Rev.  Dr.  Conmy,  Bishop 
of  Killala;  Rev.  J.  M'Elhatton,  C.C,  Strabane;  Rev.  M. 
Gallagher,  Adm.,  Knockmore,  Ballina;  Rev.B.  Quin,  C.C, 

^  Evening  Telegraph,  January  21,  1902. 


SERMONS   AT   MASS  317 

Ballina ;  Rev.  P.  Hewson,  Prof.  Seminary,  Ballina ;  Rev. 
M.  Smyth,  Moygownagli,  Ballina ;  Rev.  E.  Doherty,  C.C, 
Crossmolina ;  and  Rev.  T.  Beirne,  C.C,  Kilglass,  Ballina, 
Andrew  G.,  Strabane,  to  Mary,  eldest  daughter  of  the  late 
John  G.,  Bridge  Street,  Ballina.     No  cards."  ^ 

So  much  for  the  sacramental  duties  of  the  priests. 
They  constitute  a  trivial  amount  of  routine  work  which 
many  a  hard- worked  layman  would  not  object  to  per- 
forming during  his  holidays.  But  the  grand  work  of  the 
priest  consists  in  saying  masses.  The  physical  labour 
of  saying  a  mass  is,  as  we  know,  a  mere  formal  recitation 
by  rote  of  Latin  prayers,  the  Latin  responses  to  which 
are  uttered  by  altar-boys  who  do  not  understand  a  word 
of  Latin.  But,  what  is  more  deplorable  still,  the  congre- 
gations who  attend  those  masses  not  only  do  not  know 
what  the  priest  is  saying,  but  they  do  not  understand 
the  object  or  foundation  of  a  single  one  of  his  many 
motions,  genuflections,  and  Latin  prayers.  The  priest 
is  supposed  to  be  in  mysterious  conversation  with  God ; 
and  if,  as  may  be  the  case,  he  is  saying  the  mass  for 
several  people's  intentions,  each  of  whom  has  paid  him 
a  fee,  then  his  communing  with  God  has  special  refer- 
ence to  his  clients,  but  of  this  the  congregation  knows 
nothing.  So  far  as  the  actual  work  of  saying  the  mass 
is  concerned,  it  is  lighter  than  any  species  of  business 
known  in  the  world  outside.  And,  to  lighten  it  further, 
the  latest  hour  at  which  mass  can  be  commenced  is 
twelve  o'clock  noon.  If  the  priests  preached  sermons 
at  those  masses,  there  would  be  something  to  be  said 
in  their  behalf.  A  sermon  involves  preparation ;  it 
involves  some  mental  and  physical  exertion  in  its  de- 
livery, and  may  be  truthfully  described  as  "  work,"  if 
well  prepared.  If  the  sermon  were  of  a  practical  char- 
acter, intended  to  be  at  once  intelligible  and  instructive, 

^  Freeman,  February  12,  1902. 


3i8  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

the  audience  could  check  and  criticise  the  statements  of 
the  preacher,  which  would  ensure  some  degree  of  care 
in  the  preparation  of  the  sermon.  But  the  method  of 
celebrating  the  mass  in  Dublin  is  deliberately  intended 
to  kill-out  the  sermon.  At  five-sixths  of  the  masses  in 
the  city  on  Sunday  there  are  no  sermons  preached.  The 
priest  turns  round  to  the  congregation  and  makes  a  few 
announcements  in  English,  but  always  in  a  most  unintel- 
ligible voice.  He  asks  the  members  of  the  congregation 
to  pray  for  the  repose  of  the  souls  of  a  list  of  people  who 
died  since  the  preceding  Sunday,  or  the  anniversaries  of 
whose  deaths  occurred  during  the  past  week.  The  names 
of  all  those  people,  as  we  know,  have  been  sent  to  the 
priest  by  their  relatives,  but  they  are  read  out  in  what 
I  have  often  considered  to  be  an  intentionally  unin- 
telligible manner.  Nobody,  except  a  few  persons  who 
happen  to  be  seated  directly  underneath  the  priest, 
ever  succeeds  in  catching  the  names.  The  result  of 
this  is  to  belittle  the  gratuitous  prayer,  and  the 
relatives  of  the  deceased  are  induced  to  engage  the 
priest  to  offer  up  a  special  mass  for  the  repose  of 
their  friends'  souls.  Then  whenever  it  happens  that  a 
sermon  is  preached  in  a  Dublin  church,  I  aui  not  going 
beyond  the  mark  when  I  say  that  in  nine  cases  out 
of  ten  it  is  an  insult  to  the  intelligence  of  any 
rational  person  to  be  asked  to  sit  it  out.  The  result 
of  such  sermons  is  palpable,  for  the  most  popular 
masses  in  Dublin — the  masses  at  which  the  priests  re- 
ceive the  most  door  money,  and  at  which  the  chapels 
are  crowded  to  overtiowing — are  those  masses  at  which 
no  sermon  is  ever  preached.  It  can  be  truly  said  that 
the  Sabbath  sermon,  as  a  means  of  edification  and 
instruction,  is  well-nigh  dead  in  Catholic  Dublin.  Arch- 
bishop Walsh  himself  sets  the  example  of  never  preach- 
ing a  sermon ;  and,  of  course,  the  illustrious  precedent 


A  CATHOLIC'S  "DUTY"  319 

is  not  lost  upon  the  priests  of  the  city,  who  take  ad- 
vantage of  it  to  relieve  themselves  from  the  worry  of 
delivering  sermons.  And  it  is  not  much  loss  to  the 
laity,  for  the  sermons  of  the  priest,  instead  of  teaching 
children  and  adults  not  to  tell  lies,  to  be  conscientious, 
industrious  and  sober,  are  mostly,  if  not  altogether, 
reflections  upon  our  fellow-citizens,  or  laudations  of 
our  Holy  Mother  the  Church,  and  our  Holy  Father  the 
Pope.  One  never  hears  a  sermon  in  praise  of  duty. 
Indeed,  the  priests  have  perverted  the  meaning  of  that 
noble  and  important  word ;  for  Avhen  they  mention 
"  duty,"  it  means  going  to  confession  and  comnmnion 
during  Lent.  The  phrase,  "  Did  you  do  your  duty  ?  " 
or  "  Did  you  go  to  your  duty  ? "  means,  Have  you 
gone  to  confession  and  communion  ?  formal  acts  which 
no  man  ought  to  consider  as  equivalent  to  the  fulfil- 
ment of  his  duty.  I  have  often  heard  it  remarked 
that  our  priests  are  like  policemen.  I  do  not  con- 
sider this  at  all  discreditable  to  the  policemen,  be- 
cause the  policeman's  duty  is  necessarily  of  a  formal 
kind,  and  does  not  leave  much  room  for  originality ; 
and  even  where  a  policeman  seems  only  standing  and 
waiting,  he  is  serving  the  State.  But  a  priest  performs 
his  duty  like  a  somnolent  policeman  on  a  quiet  beat. 
He  goes  through  his  rounds  in  the  chapel  and  feels 
no  further  responsibility. 

Priests  do  not  go  out  of  their  way  to  prevent  their 
parishioners  from  falHng,  or  to  help  those  who  have 
fallen,  into  trouble ;  and,  as  it  is  often  unjustly  said 
of  policemen,  it  may  be  truly  said  of  the  priests,  that 
they  are  "  never  found  when  wanting." 

The  coughing,  sneezmg,  and  expectorating  at  mass 
in  the  average  Catholic  church  is,  we  must  all  admit, 
a  most  objectionable  accompaniment  of  the  service.  It 
may  be  caused  by  the  fact  that  the  majority  of  the 


320  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

congregation  are  poor,  ill-fed  and  ill-clad,  or  by  the 
draughtiness  and  discomfort  of  the  chapels,  which  arc 
badly  ventilated  and  badly  lighted.  But  I  think  it 
is  also  to  be  attributed  to  want  of  interest  in  the  pro- 
ceedings. I  have  often  heard  a  long  sermon  delivered 
amidst  a  fusillade  of  coughing  and  other  noises  which 
drowned  the  speaker's  voice.  Our  old  chapel  at  home 
was  an  enormous  T-shaped  building,  capable  of  accom- 
modating 4000  people.  It  contained  three  large  gal- 
leries, which  covered  almost  the  entire  area  of  the 
chapel  except  a  space  in  front  of  the  altar ;  and,  I  think, 
it  was  a  better  arrangement  than  the  new  method 
of  having  no  galleries,  for  in  the  new  churches  there  is 
not  sufficient  accommodation  for  all  the  people  Avho 
come  to  the  shortest  masses.  In  our  old  chapel,  not 
only  the  poor,  but  the  middle-class  people,  shopkeepers, 
and  farmers,  used  to  come  to  mass  prepared  for  a  long 
bout  of  coughing,  and  sneezing,  and  expectoration.  As 
soon  as  mass  would  commence,  so  would  the  coughing, 
and  it  continued  all  through  the  mass.  It  would  stop 
for  a  few  moments  at  the  elevation  of  the  host,  but 
then  it  would  recommence.  It  would  cease  for  a  little 
while  at  the  beginning  of  a  sermon,  but  then  it 
would  be  resumed  and  continue  all  through  the 
sermon.  I  noticed  that  it  invariably  stopped  as  soon 
as  mass  was  over,  when  the  people  got  into  the  open 
air.  One  of  the  best-remembered  sights  in  the  gallery 
was  that  of  a  well-to-do,  corpulent  farmer  or  shop- 
keeper, sailing  into  his  pow  arrayed  in  his  Sunday 
clothes,  sitting  down  and  pulling  out  of  his  pocket  two 
or  three  pocket-handkerchiefs,  enormous  red  ones,  as 
large  as  small  table-cloths.  He  would  dispose  one 
of  those  handkerchiefs  carefully  on  the  wooden  kneel- 
in^'  stool  in  front  of  him,  while  the  other  would  be 
kept  for  use,  and  it  would  be  no  sooner  consigned  to 


A  Dublin  Public-House— Sunday,  2  p.m. 

'The  opening  of  the  public-houses  at  2  p.m.  is  the  greatest  event  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Sabbath  afternoon  "  (p.  321). 


SUNDAY  HANDKERCHIEF  321 

his  pocket  than  it  would  be  drawn  forth  again.  I 
think  there  was  a  certain  amount  of  pride  taken  in 
this  display  of  handkerchiefs,  now  that  I  look  back 
upon  it.  The  priests  and  Christian  Brothers  used  to 
linger,  as  if  luxuriating,  over  the  use  of  theirs. 

And  no  one  in  the  neighbourhood  dreamed  of 
objecting  to  it,  though  I  always  thought  that  the 
use  and  exhibition  of  so  much  mouchoir  was  ex- 
ceedingly objectionable.  Elderly  women  also,  not  to 
be  outdone  in  grandeur,  used  to  make  a  similar 
parade.  Many  people  who  seemed  to  have  no  hand- 
kerchiefs, knelt  upon  the  bare  boards  which  were 
never  cleaned,  and  afterAvards  dusted  their  knees.  At 
various  times  in  England  I  happened  to  visit  St. 
Paul's,  Lichfield,  Chester,  and  other  cathedrals,  while 
service  was  in  progress,  and  played  the  rule  of  spec- 
tator, and  I  have  always  found  myself  remarking  the 
absence  of  coughing,  sneezing,  and  expectorating. 

At  a  suburban  chapel  in  Dublin,  which  I  attended 
for  five  years,  I  often  calculated  that  the  door  money 
received  at  the  various  masses  came  to  £^2000  per 
annum ;  and  of  that  money  no  account  Avas  ever 
rendered.  Nor  did  it  seem  in  any  particular 
to  diminish  the  demands  of  the  priests  on  the 
parishioners. 

After  mass,  our  Sunday  is  spent  by  the  laity  and 
the  clergy  either  in  pleasure  or  idleness ;  it  is  not 
spent  in  devotion.  The  young  men  hie  themselves 
otf  to  the  country.  The  priest  arranges  his  afternoon 
programme  of  amusement.  Hurling,  football,  cycling, 
coursing,  rabbit-hunting,  ratting,  and  even  hunting 
with  beagles  and  harriers  are  indulged  in.  And  one 
always  finds  that  our  Catholic  young  men  on  the 
Monday  morning  are  tired,  out  of  sorts,  and  ill- 
disposed  to  begin  their  week's  business  owing  to  the 

X 


322  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

way  in  which  the  Sabbath  has  been  spent.  In  the 
large  cities  the  opening  of  the  public  -  houses  at 
2  P.M.  is  the  greatest  event  of  the  Catholic  Sabbath 
afternoon.  I  can  hardly  remember  a  time  when  I 
did  not  contrast  the  Protestant  Sunday  with  the 
Catholic  Sunday  to  our  disadvantage.  Nor  could 
I  ever  bring  myself  to  see  anything  disgraceful  in 
the  term  "  Sabbatarian "  which  we  opprobriously 
apply  to  Protestants.  When  I  was  a  child,  on  the 
Sunday  evenings  when  there  was  nothing  to  be  done, 
I  used  to  envy  the  Protestants  and  their  children 
whom  I  saw  setting  off  for  church  about  seven  o'clock, 
and  I  used  to  think  what  a  comfortable  thing  it 
must  be  to  go  into  a  church  with  one's  friends  and 
spend  an  hour  or  two  on  Sunday  evening  in  that  way. 
With  us  there  was  nothing  on  a  Sunday  except 
the  half-hour's  attendance  at  the  "  coughing "  mass, 
then  long  excursions  to  distant  towns  and  villages 
and  exploration  of  new  tracts  of  country.  And  the 
most  unwelcome  period  of  the  week  was  Monday 
morning.  But  as  I  touch  upon  the  mass  in  various 
parts  of  this  book,  let  us  pass  on  to  other  branches  of 
the  priests'  work. 

The  "  work "  of  the  secular  priests  consists  largely 
of  such  ceremonials  as  the  following :  "  The  devotions 
of  the  Quarant  Ore  will  commence  to-morrow,  Sun- 
day ;  high  mass  at  twelve  o'clock.  On  Monday  and 
Tuesday  the  high  mass  will  commence  at  eleven  o'clock." 
This  forty  hours'  exposition  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament 
is  one  of  the  great  achievements  of  Archbishop  Walsh. 
It  consists  in  exposing  the  Blessed  Sacrament  on 
the  altar,  surrounded  by  lights  and  flowers,  for  forty 
hours — and  the  archbishop  claims  great  credit  for 
encouraging  this  practice  in  the  churches.  Does  this 
formality  tend    to    elevate  the  condition  of  the  poor 


MISSIONS   AND  SODALITIES  323 

Catholics  in  Dublin  ?  Can  the  priests  be  said  to  be 
doing  their  duty  to  the  poor  by  such  idle  demon- 
strations ?  Will  it  make  up  for  the  want  of  practical, 
Christian  living  in  the  homes  of  the  poor  ?  Friendly 
intercourse  with  the  poor  would  involve  some  exer- 
tion ;  but  the  exposition  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament 
involves  none.  Neither  does  the  giving  of  a  mission, 
which  is  a  typical  method  adopted  by  the  Dublin 
priests  as  a  substitute  for  the  personal  discharge  of 
their  duties.  They  engage  one  or  more  priests  of  some 
regular  order  to  preach  to  their  parishioners  once  a 
year  or  once  in  two  years.  The  people  attend  the 
mission,  go  to  confession  and  communion,  renew 
their  baptismal  vows,  receive  the  Pope's  blessing,  and 
disperse  to  commit  the  same  sins  over  again.  Re- 
mission of  sins  is  not  followed  by  a  change  of  life 
in  the  parish.  Neither  enlightenment  nor  elevation  of 
the  people's  standard  of  conduct  results  from  such 
missions  any  more  than  from  exposition  of  the 
sacrament. 

A  newly  appointed  parish  priest  will  occasionally 
strike  out  an  original  line  in  sodalities  for  his  parish, 
as,  for  instance  : — 

"A  new  Sodality  of  the  Sacred  Heart  for  business 
people  will  be  formed  in  St.  Joseph's  to-morrow — the 
least  of  the  holy  name — and  on  the  following  evenings. 
A  Redemptorist  Father  will  preach  every  evening  at 
half-past  eight  o'clock,  and  also  after  the  ten  o'clock 
mass.  A  special  choir  will  attend  each  evening,  accom- 
panied by  the  new  organ.  This  sodality  is  mainly 
formed  for  the  beneht  of  business  ladies,  and  girls  whose 
professional,  or  warehouse,  or  domestic  occupations  leave 
them  little  time.  The  hours  will  be  arranged  to  meet 
their  convenience.  The  Sodality  will,  for  the  present, 
be  directed — and  the  lectures  at  its  meetings  delivered — 


324  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

by  Father  Downing,  St.  Joseph's.  The  beautiful  new 
shrine  of  Our  Lady  will  be  adorned  and  lighted  during 
the  week."  ^ 

What  can  be  expected  from  such  a  programme  ? 
What  practical  Christian  utility  will  it  be  to  those 
Catholic  business  ladies,  except  to  encourage  the  devo- 
tions described  in  the  eleventh  chapter  ? 

Another  active  parish  priest  boasts  "  that  his  church 
has  the  proud  distinction  of  having  been  selected  as  the 
Memorial  Church  of  the  arch-diocese  of  Dublin,  in 
thanksgiving  for  the  dogmatic  definition  of  the  Im- 
maculate Conception,  pronounced  by  the  sainted  pontiff, 
Pius  IX."  The  pastor  is  exerting  himself  to  the  best 
of  his  ability,  which  is  more  than  can  be  said  of  nine- 
tenths  of  the  Dublin  priests.  He  has  a  boys'  brigade 
attached  to  his  church,  which  he  styles  the  "  Pope's 
Brigade."  Perhaps  it  is  better  for  those  boys  to  be 
enrolled  in  that  brigade  than  not  to  be  enrolled  in  it. 
I  have  often  seen  them  returning  from  their  outings, 
and  they  strike  me  as  being  a  very  loosely  drilled  brigade 
in  comparison  with  the  Protestant  brigade  attached  to 
the  Leeson  Park  Church,  which  I  frequently  happen  to 
see  also.  The  Protestant  boys  join  their  brigade  as  a 
means  of  physical  exercise  and  social  improvement,  and 
it  improves  them.  If  there  are  prayers  in  connection 
with  it,  they  are  of  the  simplest  kind,  such  as  lessons 
in  Scripture.  That  is  not  so  with  the  Catholic  boys' 
brigade.  They  are  "  The  Pope's  brigade."  They  learn 
nothing  patriotic,  nothing  useful,  their  energies  are 
diverted  from  practical  pursuits  calculated  to  advance 
them  in  after  life.  What  has  the  Pope  got  to  do  with 
them  ?  We  in  Ireland  never  received  anything  from  the 
Popes,  except  obstruction  and  confusion.  If  our  Irish 
secular  priests  were  left  to  themselves  they  might  not 

'  Freeman's  Journal,  1902. 


SEPARATION  OF  THE  SEXES  325 

be  injurious  to  the  country.  But  under  the  guidance 
of  ItaUan  ecclesiastics,  wliose  administration  of  temporal 
power,  when  they  had  it,  was  so  bad  that  the  citizens  of 
their  own  country  forcibly  deprived  them  of  it,  our  priests 
are  a  force  making  for  disturbance  and  degeneracy. 

Returning  to  the  subject  of  missions,  we  find  the 
following  announcement  from  one  of  the  archbishop's 
parishes,  St.  Andrew's,  Westland  Row : — 

"A  fortnight's  Mission,  conducted  by  the  Redemptorist 
Fathers,  commenced  on  Sunday.  The  first  week  will 
be  devoted  to  the  women  of  the  parish,  and  the  second 
week  to  the  men  of  the  parish.  There  will  be  masses 
each  day  at  6,  y,  8,  9,  10,  and  1 1  o'clock,  and  sermons 
after  1 1  o'clock  mass,  and  each  evening  after  rosary 
at  8  P.M.,  except  on  Saturdays,  which  will  be  devoted 
entirely  to  confessions.  Confessions  will  be  held  on  the 
other  days  from  7  to  9  A.M.,  11  a.m.  to  4  p.m.,  and 
after  the  evening  devotions.  The  Mission  will  con- 
clude with  sermon,  renewal  of  baptismal  vows,  plenary 
indulgence,  papal  benediction,  and  benediction  of  the 
Blessed  Sacrament."  ^ 

This  separation  of  women  from  men  is  one  of  the 
most  objectionable  and  harmful  practices  indulged  in 
by  the  unmarried  priests  of  our  Church.  It  would  be 
impossible  to  over-estimate  the  individual  and  collective 
evil  which  springs  from  it  for  the  Catholic  community ; 
but  the  administrator  and  the  archbishop,  no  doubt, 
consider  that  this  mission  comprises  all  that  is  necessary 
for  the  poor  Catholics  of  that  extensive  and  thickly 
populated  neighbourhood,  who  are  so  much  in  need 
of  enlightenment.  Canon  Fricker,  of  Rathmines,  also 
announces,  "  The  annual  retreat  for  the  ivomcn  of  the 
parish,  particularly  for  the  members  of  the  Sodality  in 
honour  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus,  to  be  conducted 
by  the  Redemptorist  Fathers." 

'  Freeman's  Journal,  Febrnary  i8,  1902. 


326  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

Large  crowds  of  men  and  women  will  separately 
attend  those  missions;  but  after  the  devotions  have 
concluded,  what  actual  result  will  be  apparent  ?  The 
men  will  be  more  estranged  than  ever  from  the  women. 
The  homes  of  the  people  will  remain  in  the  same  con- 
dition as  heretofore,  and  the  dull  routine  of  their 
lives,  from  which  all  Christian  study  and  inquiry  are 
excluded,  will  be  resumed. 

Some  secular  priests  get  up  literary  societies,  lest  the 
young  men  should  read  improving  literature  and  there- 
by make  discoveries.  There  are  many  of  them  to  be 
found  in  the  city  of  Dublin.  And  even  those  literary 
societies  are  converted  by  the  priests  into  begging 
organisations.  The  Haddington  Road  parish  branch 
of  the  Gaelic  League,  of  which  Canon  Dillon,  P.P.,  is 
the  president,  and  of  which  three  out  of  the  six  vice- 
presidents  are  the  Catholic  curates  of  the  parish,  namely, 
Rev.  Henry  Lube,  CO.,  Rev.  F.  Wall,  CO.,  and  Rev. 
J.  Magrath,  C.C.,  posted  me  the  following  circular  a 
few  days  ago,  and  I  blushed  when  I  read  it.  To  this 
depth  in  the  hands  of  the  priests  is  the  vaunted  Gaelic 
League,  by  which  the  race  is  to  be  regenerated,  already 
fallen : — 

"  We  venture  to  ask  for  your  kindly  co-operation  and 
practical  sympathy,  to  enable  us  to  carry  on  this  Branch 
of  the  Gaelic  League,  in  the  organising  and  working  of 
which  some  heavy  expenses  were  necessarily  incurred. 
Although  most  of  the  teachers  generously  give  their 
services  gratis,  we  found  it  necessary  to  employ  one 
teacher  tulto  has  to  be  paid,  and  although  our  revered 
pastor,  the  Very  Rev.  Canon  Dillon,  P.P.,  has  kindly 
given  us  the  use  of  the  school  free,  there  are  many  ex- 
penses which  have  to  bo  undertaken  before  our  classes 
can  be  put  into  perfect  Avorking  order.  It  is  within  the 
power  of  all — even  the  poorest — to  help  it  by  contri- 
buting a  little  to  the  funds  necessary  to  carry  it  on, 


A   CURATE'S  DAY  327 

and  even  the  smallest  trifle  will  he  acceptable,  and  also 
by,  at  all  times  and  in  all  places,  endeavouring  to  ad- 
vance its  interests. 

"  Few  causes  are  more  worthy  of  the  proverbial 
generosity  and  devotion  of  our  people,  for,  even  apart 
from  merely  sentimental  motives,  the  demoralising 
influence  of  2)Tesent-day  literature  and  the  threatened 
extinction  of  our  race,  demand  that  our  every  effort 
should  be  put  forth  to  counteract  these  evils." 

The  demoralising  influence  of  present-day  priestcraft, 
which  is  at  its  wits'  end  to  devise  mind-killing  employ- 
ment for  the  youth  of  the  country,  is  what  I  should  be 
glad  to  give  a  subscription  to  counteract !  Those  priest- 
ridden  Gaelic  Leaguers  print  their  humble  gratitude  to 
the  parish  priest  for  not  charging  them  for  the  use 
of  the  parochial  school  in  the  evenings ;  which  shows 
how  the  schools  are  looked  upon  as  the  parish  priest's 
private  property,  not  the  property  of  the  ratepayers. 

The  week-day  of  an  average  curate  was  once  filled  in 
for  me  as  follows : — If  there  be  a  daily  mass,  rise  in 
time  to  celebrate  it ;  try  and  recollect  for  whom  and 
how  many  people  you  have  been  paid  to  offer,  up  mass, 
and  get  some  into  it ;  return  with  a  sharp  appetite  for 
breakfast.  If  there  be  no  daily  mass,  rise  at  any  hour. 
After  breakfast  make  a  prolonged  study  of  the  news- 
paper. If  on  sick-call  duty,  remain  about  the  house ; 
if  a  sick-call  comes,  rush  off  and  get  it  over  as  quickly 
as  possible,  studiously  reading  the  breviary  Avhile  in  the 
street.  Return  and  resume  Straml  Magazine,  Answers, 
or  M.A.P.,  and  have  a  smoke.  When  the  time  arrives 
for  the  customary  walk  before  lunch,  get  the  breviary 
and  umbrella,  and  set  forth  in  parade  order.  Lunch. 
Go  to  some  afternoon  amusement — bazaar,  horse  show, 
concert,  circus,  or  promenade  at  seaside.  Dinner.  Pro- 
longed sojourn  at  table,  rest,  smoke,  &c.,  or  hobnob  with 
convivial  sacerdotal  spirits.     If  not  on  sick-call  duty. 


328  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

do  as  you  like;  but  avoid  the  parish.  If  it  be  con- 
fession day,  sit  in  the  box,  restive,  indignant,  or  in- 
terested, as  the  case  may  be,  from  noon  to  lunch ;  and 
sit  somnolently  after  dinner  doing  the  same  work. 

Of  personal,  practical  work  in  the  parishes,  outside 
this  formal  kind  of  drill -work  which  I  have  been 
dealing  with,  which  is  mostly  done  in  the  chapels, 
the  parish  priest  does  positively  nothing.  He  dines 
at  such  houses  as  he  is  invited  to,  where  he  is  sure  of 
a  good  dinner,  and  where  whatever  he  says  is  received 
with  unquestioning  "  faith " ;  but,  of  late  years,  he 
prefers  dining  in  his  own  house  in  company  with  con- 
genial members  of  his  own  order.  He  is  enveloped  in 
mystery;  and  I  shall  not  seek  for  what  is  behind  the 
veil  in  his  mysterious  life.  Pious  women  always  sup- 
pose him  to  be  engaged  in  work  of  charity  in  secret ; 
but  the  most  watchful  eyes  amongst  even  his  female 
parishioners  can  never  discover  where  it  is  done,  or 
who  benefits  by  it.  He  is  always  supposed  to  be  very 
poor,  but  yet  he  spares  no  expense  in  his  own  living 
or  in  entertaining  his  colleagues.  He  has  abundance 
of  cash ;  his  credit  is  good,  especially  with  Protestants ; 
and  he  is  most  assiduous  in  his  work  of  extracting 
money  from  his  parishioners.  When  he  dies — and  this 
has  been  growing  more  noticeable  yearly  during  the 
last  twenty  years — he  leaves  nothing  !  By  an  arrange- 
ment made  before  he  gets  the  parish,  whatever  he 
accumulates  goes  to  the  bishop  for  the  church  fund, 
of  which  some  of  our  city  banks  could  give  many 
interesting  particulars. 

Whenever  his  will  is  published,  it  usually  discloses  a 
small  estate,  such  as  the  following: — 

"  Probate  of  the  will  of  Canon  Carberry,  P.P.,  James's 
Street,  has  been  granted.  The  assets  were  estimated 
at  ^^965,  and  out  of  this  the  deceased  clergyman  has 


POVERTY  AND  RICHES  329 

bequeathed  ;^20  to  the  Magdalen  Asylum,  Druincondra ; 
£$0  for  masses  for  the  repose  of  his  soul ;  ;^2o  to  the 
poor  of  the  parisli  of  Rathdrum ;  ^30  to  the  Convent 
of  Mercy,  Rathdrum ;  and  ^20  towards  buildmg  a 
school  in  Clara  Vale.  After  paying  the  debts,  the 
remainder  of  the  assets  is  to  be  distributed  by  his 
brother,  Rev.  Father  Carberry,  P.P.,  Wicklow,  as  he 
thinks  best."  ^ 

But,  in  the  newspapers  of,  perhaps,  the  next  day 
you  will  read  a  report  of  the  probate  suit  of  Barrett  v. 
HefFernan  and  others :  "  Father  Barrett,  1 9  Myrtle 
Hill,  Cork,  sought  to  establish  the  Avill  of  Miss  Mar- 
garet Coleman  of  16  Myrtle  Hill,  Cork,"  under  which 
he  is  the  sole  beneficiary.  Father  Barrett  was  not  a 
relative,  and  the  will  was  disputed  by  the  lady's  cousins. 
"  The  deceased  died  Avorth  about  ;^20,ooo,  Avhich  she 
willed  to  Father  Barrett,  who  lived  in  one  of  deceased's 
houses.  In  1895  she  was  attended  for  cancer,  and  in 
that  year  made  the  will.  Imputations  of  undue  in- 
fluence having  been  withdrawn,  the  jury  found  for  the 
plaintiff,  and  a  decree  for  probate  was  given." ' 

It  is  at  the  deathbed  priests  acquire  the  bulk  of  then- 
means.  They  have  exceptional  facilities  for  acquiring 
accurate  information  about  the  finances  of  their  peni- 
tents. They  exercise  peculiar  influence  over  elderly 
spinsters  and  widows,  as  may  be  gathered  from  the 
collection  of  wills  given  in  the  seventh  chapter.  Miss 
Coleman  was  an  elderly  lady  suffering  from  a  painful, 
incurable  disease.  She,  no  doubt,  inherited  the  money 
from  some  one  who  worked  to  accumulate  it.  Indeed, 
most  of  the  fortunes  made  in  Catholic  Ireland  fall  to 
the  priests  at  the  deathbeds  either  of  the  accumulators 
or  their  descendants. 

The  work  performed  by  our  secular  priests  being  of 

'  Evening  Herald,  March  5,  1902. 
^  Freeman's  Journal,  June  6,  1902. 


330  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

a  formal,  unpractical  nature,  which  leaves  the  inner 
lives  of  our  community  unregenerated,  it  follows  that 
the  poor  people  are  not  served,  and  the  well-to-do  are 
left  outside  the  pale  of  true  Christianity.  They  come 
to  the  chapel  once  a  week  to  see  the  priest  performing, 
but  they  are  not  actors  in  the  drama.  They  are  mere 
outsiders,  who,  to  use  their  own  words,  leave  their 
religion  to  the  sacerdotal  experts  with  an  unconcerned 
mind.  Hence  it  is  that  well-to-do  people,  from  whom 
good  example  might  be  expected,  take  such  little  in- 
terest in  the  mass.  They  arrive  late,  and  they  leave 
almost  before  it  is  over.  They  yawn,  they  stare  about, 
they  do  not  even  open  a  prayer-book.  They  never  spend 
more  than  twenty-five  minutes  in  the  church,  and,  when 
they  depart,  they  have  heard  nothing  edifying  or  in- 
structive within  its  walls  to  afford  them  topic  of  con- 
versation, except,  perhaps,  what  the  ladies  see  of  each 
other's  hats  and  dresses. 

The  labours  of  the  secular  priests  of  Dublin,  there- 
fore, leave  the  great  mass  of  our  poor  and  vicious  as 
they  find  them.  Bachelors,  bred  in  Maynooth,  they 
discover  no  syjnpathy  with  the  struggling,  distraught 
fathers ;  ailing,  hopeless  mothers ;  growing  boys  and 
girls;  children  and  infants,  amongst  whom  they  are 
called  upon  to  do  the  work  of  Christ.  They  are  not 
suited  for  it,  and  they  end  by  confining  themselves 
altogether  to  those  formalities  and  rites  which  are  so 
easy,  which  make  no  tax  upon  their  intellect ;  and 
which,  as  it  soothes  them  to  suppose,  must  satisfy  all 
the  cravings  of  heart  and  brain  of  the  poor  people. 
A  worse  system  of  religion,  or  one  further  removed 
from  the  original  Christianity  as  taught  by  Christ  and 
His  Apostles,  could  not  be  imagined. 

But  let  us  now  consider  the  Regular  Priests. 


CHAPTER    XVIII 

THE    DUBLIN   REGULAR  PRIESTS  AND   THEIR  WORK 

Let  us  now  endeavour  to  understand  what  the  regular 
priests  in  the  city  of  Dublin  do.  The  Augustinians  keep 
two  monastic  national  schools,  for  which  they  receive 
a  grant  from  the  Government.  But  their  main  pro- 
fessional duties  consist  of  saying  masses  in  their  own 
church,  strikinor  out  retreats,  or  advertisins:  the  marvel- 
lous  efficacy  of  the  shrines  in  their  Thomas  Street 
church  to  attract  people  to  it  in  preference  to  any  of 
the  three  parish  churches  within  a  few  paces  of  where 
it  is  situated.  They  have  confraternities  and  sodalities, 
whose  members  are  working  men  and  women,  whom 
they  induce  thereby  to  become  supporters  of  the  Order 
of  Saint  Augustine. 

It  so  chanced  that  I  went  into  the  Aus:ustinian  Church 
recently,  and  when  I  had  passed  through  the  main  door, 
I  noticed  a  darkened  recess  on  my  left ;  but,  having 
freshly  left  the  glare  of  the  street,  I  could  only  make 
out  dimly  that  people  were  jostling  each  other  in  the 
gloom.  I  walked  up  the  nave  of  the  spacious  church, 
and,  having  knelt  to  say  a  prayer,  surveyed  the  costly 
structure  and  its  decorations,  which  have  cost  the 
better  part  of  a  hundred  thousand  pounds.  The  stiff- 
ness, want  of  taste,  and  uncleanliness  which  pervaded 
the  edifice,  presented  an  unpleasant  contrast  to  the  glory 
of  all  things  natural  and  outdoor.  I  thought  of  God, 
and  of  the  boundless  blue  sky,  the  white,  fleecy  clouds, 
and  the  fresh  air  which  I  had  left  outside.    And  I  asked 


332  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

myself:  What  does  God  think  of  this,  when  He  must 
know  that  every  stone  of  this  church  has  been  procured 
and  put  into  its  place  by  money  which  was  required  by 
the  nation  for  the  bare  necessaries  of  life  ?  Does  God, 
the  creator  of  this  earth,  with  all  its  land  and  water, 
its  minerals  below  and  its  atmosphere  above,  with  its 
myriad  of  human  beings  and  numberless  myriads  of 
animal  life,  approve  of  this  ugly,  costly  house  which 
has  been  built  out  of  the  sweat  of  His  people's  brows — 
out  of  their  sighs,  their  tears,  their  ignorance,  their 
cowardice,  their  heart-broken  misery  ?  Can  He,  who 
takes  in  at  a  single  glance  the  countless  suns  and  worlds 
which  revolve  in  the  plane  of  space,  approve  of  this 
house  or  feel  honoured  by  what  goes  on  under  its  roof  ? 
I  looked  at  the  dark  confessionals,  ranged  like  caves 
along  the  walls  of  the  side  aisles,  and  I  thought,  or  tried 
to  think,  of  what  went  on  within  them.  I  rose  to  leave, 
and,  as  I  approached  the  door,  my  eyes  having  got 
accustomed  to  the  interior  light,  I  saw  that  the  dark 
corner  in  which  the  people  still  jostled  each  other  con- 
tained a  large  crucifix,  with  an  expiring  Christ,  and 
at  the  left-hand  side  of  the  cross  was  a  large  statue 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and  at  the  right-hand  side  a 
large  statue  of  St.  John.  And  I  saw  several  shabby, 
woebegone  people,  dirty  and  threadbare,  old,  middle- 
aged,  and  young,  mumbling  inarticulately,  and  pressing 
up  against  the  rail  outside  the  statues.  And  I  saw  them 
tremblingly  put  forth  their  dirty  right  hands  and  rub 
the  palms  and  backs  of  them  against  the  coloured  clay 
of  the  statue  of  the  Virgin,  moving  their  hands  over  its 
breast  and  arms  and  hands.  And  then  I  saw  them  rub 
their  hands,  after  contact  with  the  statue,  against  their 
own  dirty  foreheads.  And  they  did  the  same  to  and 
before  the  statue  of  St.  John.  And  a  feeling  of  disgust 
ran  through  me  as  I  beheld  ;  and  I  thought :  Those  are 


IS  IT  IDOLATRY?  333 

my  countrymen  and  countrywomen.  Those  are  the  Irish 
who  cannot  get  on  in  Hfe.  Tliis  is  the  teaching  they 
get ;  this  is  the  rehgion  to  which  they  sacrifice  their  lives. 
This  is  all  they  know  of  God  and  God's  world.  Now 
1  know,  and  the  conviction  surges  through  my  whole 
being,  that  God  does  not  approve  of  this  costly  house 
and  of  what  is  done  under  its  roof. 

And  I  asked  myself,  Is  that  idolatry,  or  is  it  not  ? 
And  I  had  to  answer  that  if  that  was  not  idolatry,  and 
if  those  poor  people  were  not  idolaters,  then  there  was 
no  meaning  in  words.  They  believed  that  those  pipe- 
clay images,  of  their  own  initiative,  by  mere  contact, 
infused  a  something  into  their  beings  of  which  they 
stood  in  need.  They  believed  there  was  power  in  those 
idols,  let  sophists  and  hypocrites  say  what  they  will. 
And  it  is  a  crime  beyond  measure  that  ministers  of 
religion  should  sufifer  men  and  women  to  so  deceive 
themselves. 

The  Calced  Carmelites  at  Whitefriars  Street  conduct 
all  the  formal  religious  exercises  at  their  chapel,  hear- 
ing confessions,  saying  masses,  and  holding  confrater- 
nity meetings  on  certain  week  evenings.  They  have  a 
Carmelite  College  at  Terenure,  in  which  they  have  a 
number  of  boarders,  an  academy  in  Lower  Dominick 
Street,  and  national  schools  in  Whitefriars  Street. 

The  Franciscan-Capuchins  in  Church  Street  do  the 
same  class  of  work,  hearing  confessions,  granting  absolu- 
tions, saying  masses,  and  managing  their  confraternities. 
These  priests  have  a  total  abstinence  society  in  connec- 
tion with  that  church,  and  of  it  I  am  prepared  to  admit, 
that,  considering  it  is  a  priest-managed  institution,  it  is 
highly  creditable  to  them.  Its  members  keep  away 
from  drink,  which,  in  Dublin,  is  a  great  gain ;  anmse- 
ments  by  way  of  lecture  and  concert  are  provided  in 
the  society's  hall  for  its  members ;   but,  if  the  same 


334  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

society  were  under  lay  management,  with  just  a  single 
clergyman  in  attendance,  its  members  would  derive  far 
more  instruction  and  improvement  from  it.  Whatever 
gain  accrues  to  them  socially  from  their  teetotalism  is, 
to  a  great  extent,  counterbalanced  by  the  mental  en- 
slavement and  unpractical  direction  with  which  they 
are  saturated  by  the  priests  in  power. 

The  Boys'  Brigade  conducted  by  them  is  one  of 
those  unpractical  organisations  which  has  the  outward 
appearance  of  well-doing,  but  which  effects  no  real 
good.  Here  is  a  description  of  the  work  in  connection 
with  it : — 

"Brigade  Mass  at  lo  o'clock  a.m. — During  the  week 
the  work  of  the  brigade  was  carried  on  with  special  care 
and  energy.  After  their  phj'^sical  exercise  on  each  night 
the  boys  received  a  short  instruction  appropriate  to  the 
season  of  Lent.  The  rosary  was  then  recited,  and  each 
little  lad  left  the  hail  penetrated  with  the  spirit  of  the 
Church,  and  determined  to  carry  out  to  the  letter  her 
salutary  counsel."  ^ 

The  Capuchins  pride  themselves  on  the  fact  that 
Father  Mathew,  the  temperance  apostle,  belonged  to 
their  Order.  It  would  be  well  for  them  if  they  were  in 
a  position  to  do  work  even  remotely  approaching  that 
of  Father  Mathew.  Father  Brophy,  O.S.A.,  in  a  lecture 
at  Church  Street,  said  that  Father  Mathew  "  loved  his 
country  with  all  the  warmth  of  his  big  Celtic  heart,  but 
above  his  country  he  loved  his  God."  '^  Why  such  a 
distinction  between  God  and  country  ?  Is  it  because 
the  regular  priests  feel  that  they  do  not  love  their 
country,  and  wish  to  misrepresent  their  subservience  to 
the  Italian  priests  as  being  equivalent  to  a  love  of  God  ? 

The  Discalced  Carmelites  at  Clarendon  Street  hear 
confessions,  say  mass,  preach  an  occasional  sermon,  and 

1  Evening  Teleyraph,  J'eb.  22,  1902.        "^  Freeman'g  Journal,  Oct.  16,  1901. 


"GOD   BLESS  THE  POPE"  335 

manage  their  confraternities ;  and  that  seems  to  be 
their  work  for  good  in  the  city.  They  are  entertaining 
the  lay  members  of  their  total  abstinence  confraternity 
at  supper  ^  in  "  one  of  the  spacious  rooms  of  the  new 
convent" — an  enormous  building  just  erected,  and  to 
make  room  for  which  half  a  street  side  had  to  be 
cleared  away.  Let  us  take  a  glimpse  at  the  proceed- 
ings.    We  are  told  that 

"  some  national,  operatic,  and  humorous  songs  were  ably 
rendered,  and  a  very  pleasant  couple  of  hours  spent." 
Brother  J.  C.  said  :  ''  Their  spiritual  director  had  in- 
creased the  membership  and  raised  the  status  of  the 
sodality."  Brother  M'C,  "  one  of  the  oldest  members," 
also  spoke,  and  "  offered  his  tribute  of  congratulation." 
Father  Corbett  said  they  were  "united  in  one  heart 
and  actuated  with  one  desire,  viz.  the  promotion  of 
God's  glory  and  the  honour  of  Mount  Carmel.  .  .  . 
Before  separating  he  would  ask  them  not  to  forget  the 
grand  old  man  in  Rome,  their  holy  father,  the  Pope 
(tremendous  cheers).  They  were  all  loyal  and  devoted 
children  to  that  great  pontiff  (applause).  They  loved 
him  and  he  loved  them,  and  he  (Father  Corbett)  could 
assure  them  that  his  Holiness  heard  with  evident  plea- 
sure of  the  working  of  the  confraternity,  when  a  couple 
of  months  ago  it  Avas  his  privilege  to  kneel  at  his  feet. 
Let  them  ever  pray  for  him  that  he  may  be  spared  many 
years  to  continue  to  guide  the  destiny  of  the  Church 
(cheers)."  Brother  C.  then  "led  the  singing  of  'God 
Bless  the  Pope,'  which  was  enthusiastically  joined  in 
by  all,  and  three  hearty,  vigorous,  and  ringing  cheers 
having  been  given  for  his  Holiness,  the  company  sepa- 
rated." 

Such  a  temperance  confraternity,  without  the 
dominating  interference  of  the  priests,  and  if  ration- 
ally conducted  under  lay  guidance,  on  benevolent 
principles,   would    be    an   admirable   institution.     But 

'  Freeinati's  Journal,  Augu.-st  12,  1901. 


PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

there   can   be   no   self-improvement,   no   lasting  good 
capable  of  coming  from  such  inanities. 

I  shall  give  one  or  two  more  examples  of  the  work  of 
the  Discalced  Carmelites  at  Clarendon  Street.  Here, 
for  instance,  is  a  portion  of  the  special  work  which  they 
do  for  the  Catholic  women  and  girls  who  attend  their 
Church : — 

"  On  Sunday  next,  23rd  February,  a  retreat /or  women, 
to  be  conducted  by  the  Very  Rev.  M.  Somers,  C.SS.R., 
will  be  commenced  in  the  Carmelite  Church,  St.  Teresa's, 
Clarendon  Street.  The  retreat,  which  will  continue  for 
a  week,  wUl  be  opened  at  the  evening  devotions  at  7.30 
on  Sunday,  and  during  the  week  there  will  be  mass, 
with  music,  each  morning  at  7  o'clock,  sermon  after  the 
1 1  o'clock  mass ;  and  rosary,  sermon,  and  benediction 
each  evening  at  8  o'clock.  The  sermon  on  Friday  even- 
ing will  he  on  the  Brown  Scapular,  and  there  will  be 
a  general  enrolment  of  tvomen  at  the  devotions  that 
evening.  The  concluding  ceremony  of  the  retreat,  on 
Sunday,  2nd  March,  will  include  solemn  Renewal  of 
Baptismal  Vows  and  Papal  Benediction."  ^ 

This  is  the  policy  of  separating  the  sexes  to  which  I 
drew  attention  in  the  preceding  chapter. 

What  could  be  more  unpractical  and  more  useless 
to  the  women  who  reside  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Clarendon  Street  than  an  address  on  the  Brown 
Scapular  ?  Such  is  the  nonsense  on  which  our  Catholic 
women  are  regaled  when  they  attend  the  retreats 
specially  prepared  for  them  by  secular  and  regular 
priests.  I  do  not  see  the  propriety  of  bachelor  priests 
giving  special  retreats  for  women.  The  Brown  Scapular 
is  not  the  most  objectionable  theme  selected  for  dis- 
courses at  such  retreats ;  others  are  hardly  discussable. 
I  think  it  is  going  far  enough  to  ask  a  woman  to  disclose 
everything  to  one  of  those  priests  in  the  confessional, 

^  Freeman  s  Journal. 


Poor  Dublin  Streets 

This  is  a   street  inhabited  by  poor  Roman  Catholics  in  which  the  Dublin 
priests  would  find  ample  scope  for  their  superfluous  energy. 
"  The  priests  avoid  the  poor  as  if  they  were  infected  "  (p.  369). 


Poor  Dublin  Streets 

The  inhabitants  of  this  poor  street  are  not  often  honoured  by  a  visit  from  a 
priest  or  a  nun. 

"Nor  would  a  poor  parishioner,  when  in  trouble,  dare  to  accost  his  parish 
priest  "(p.  369). 


JESUS   OF  PRAGUE  337 

but  it  is  going  too  far  to  collect  a  body  of  women  of 
various  ages  and  conditions  into  a  church  to  listen  to 
private  addresses  from  men,  who  not  only  themselves 
have  never  got  married,  but  who  have  been  reared  in 
ostensible  exclusion  from  women.  Such  conduct  is 
out  of  date,  to  describe  it  mildly  and  to  put  no  worse 
construction  on  it.  Here  is  another  example  of  the 
Discalced  Carmelite  at  work  : — 

"  On  Sunday  evening  an  interesting  and  impressive 
ceremony  took  place  in  the  church  of  the  Carmelite 
Fathers,  Clarendon  Street — the  opening  of  a  new  oratory 
in  honour  of  the  divine  child,  Jesus  of  Prague.  This 
devotion  of  the  holy  infancy  was  established  in  the  year 
1636  by  the  venerable  Sister  Margaret  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament,  a  Carmelite  Nun  of  Beaune  (France),  to 
whom  it  was  revealed  in  an  ecstasy  that  wonderful 
graces  might  be  obtained  by  devoutly  honouring  the 
Redeemer's  holy  childhood.  The  large  and  spacious 
church  was  filled  with  a  large  and  devout  congregation 
when  the  sacred  ceremonies  commenced.  On  the  con- 
clusion of  vespers.  Father  Stanislaus  preached  a  power- 
ful and  eloquent  sermon  descriptive  of  the  origin  and 
progress  of  the  devotion.  This  was  followed  by  a  pro- 
cession of  the  divine  child  to  the  new  oratory.  The 
sacred  ceremonies  concluded  with  benediction  of  the 
Most  Blessed  Sacrament.  On  witnessing  the  piety  of 
the  large  congregation  present  one  could  not  but 
naturally  recall  to  mind  the  words  of  the  Psalmist : 
'Praise  the  Lord,  all  ye  nations;  praise  Him,  all  ye 
people.  For  His  mercy  is  conferred  upon  us,  and  the 
truth  of  the  Lord  remaineth  for  ever.'  The  community 
of  Saint  Teresa  arc  to  be  congratulated  on  their  zeal 
in  encouraging  this  beautiful  devotion  to  the  divine 
child."  1 

It  is  not  the  truth  of  the  Lord  that  remaineth  with 
the  people  in  such  ceremonies  as  this.  Such  devotional 
demonstrations  stifle  all  serious  Christian  thought  and 

'  Eveninii  Telegraph. 

y 


338  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

inquiry,  and  those  ecstatic  parades  come  eventually  to 
satisfy  every  aspiration  of  the  benighted  minds  of  our 
womenfolk.  What  would  Jesus  think  of  the  condition 
of  the  poor  Catholic  children  of  Dublin  if  He  were  to 
reappear  on  earth  to-day  ? 

The  kind  of  patriotism  inculcated  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Discalced  Carmelites  may  be  gathered  from  the 
following.  Mr.  J.  G.  is  delivering  "  a  lecture  on  the 
battle  of  Clontarf  " — a  favourite  theme — "  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  juvenile  Irish  class,  Father  Ignatius,  O.D.C., 
presiding."  The  lecturer  said  "  that  it  would  be  waste 
of  time  if  they  did  not  learn  something  from  the  study 
of  the  Irish  history  at  the  period  of  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury." ^  I  agree  with  him,  but  I  fail  to  see  what  we  can 
learn  from  it,  except  that  at  that  time  and  ever  since  we 
might  have  had  more  sense.  The  lecturer  asked,  "Would 
it  be  possible  nowadaj'^s  for  a  female  to  pass  through 
Ireland,  nay,  through  Dublin,  without  being  insulted  ? 
He  was  afraid  that  the  conduct  of  some  of  these  would- 
be  young  men  led  them  to  think  the  contrary,  and 
evidenced  in  a  lamentable  manner  how  disreputably  low 
the  morality  of  the  country  was  as  compared  with  the 
time  called  '  the  daric  pages  of  Ireland's  history,'  and 
he  believed  the  caiose  of  all  that  was  the  intercourse  with 
England!'  There  I  differ  with  him.  I  attribute  "  the 
disreputably  low  morality  of  the  country  "  to  the  vast 
army  of  priests,  secular  and  regular,  who  have  been 
misguiding  us,  nagging  at  us,  and  obstructing  us  at 
every  stage  of  our  lives  and  all  periods  of  our  history 
since  the  days  of  Brian  Boru,  keej^ing  from  us  the 
goodness  of  God  and  the  best  virtues  of  Christianity. 
It  is  part  of  the  priests'  business  to  uphold  the  race 
hatred  between  Ireland  and  England.  It  is  from 
them  in  the  schools  that  the  children  learn  it.     The 

'  Evening  Herald,  August  7,  1901. 


DUBLIN  MORALITY  339 

animosity  felt  by  Roman  Catholics  for  their  Protestant 
fellow-citizens  is  one  of  the  levers  by  which  our  Church 
works  on  thoughtless  British  statesmen.  Father  Corbet 
pointed  out  that  "  the  greatest  lesson,  perhaps,  from  the 
consideration  of  the  battle  of  Clontarf,  was  that  of  unity 
and  order.  If  they  would  but  cultivate  Irish  songs  and 
Irish  sentiment,  they  would  soon  present  to  the  world  a 
happy  picture,  and  the  historian  of  the  opening  years  of 
the  twentieth  century  may  have  to  chronicle  the  return 
of  that  morality,  the  loss  of  which  is  so  deeply  deplored." 
If  the  Discalced  Carmelites  deplore  the  loss  of  morality 
amongst  Irishmen,  and  especially  amongst  Irish  women- 
folk, Avhy  do  they  not  induce  the  virtuous  ladies  of 
their  district  and  the  well-intentioned  and  active  lay- 
men to  take  some  measures  to  purify  the  moral  tone  of 
the  city  in  their  immediate  neighbourhood  ?  Our  priests, 
save  by  some  dramatic  act  like  the  cleansing  of  North 
Street  in  Cork,  cannot  take  the  lead  in  any  such  move- 
ment with  permanent  success,  I  attribute  no  worse 
motives  to  them  than  ignorance  and  incapacity  to  deal 
with  the  question.  It  is  well  to  find  a  lecturer  in  Catholic 
Dublin  who  has  the  hardihood  to  speak  on  morality. 
If  the  laymen  had  a  voice  in  church  government,  much 
might  be  done  in  this  direction ;  but,  as  we  see,  the 
priests  are  ever  at  hand  to  soften  down  and  hush  up 
and  take  the  edge  off  the  layman's  energy,  turning  the 
discourse  from  morality  to  "  Irish  songs  and  sentiment " 
and  "  unity  and  order,"  as  Father  Corbet  does. 

The  nature  of  the  labours  of  the  Dominicans — 
otherwise  the  Order  of  Preachers — in  Dominick  Street 
may  be  gauged  accurately  from  the  following  ex- 
amples : — 

"  The  annual  retreat  for  the  members  of  the  Grocers' 
Assistants'  Sodality  Avas   commenced   last  evening   in 


340  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

the  Church  of  St.  Saviour,  Dominick  Street.^  The 
devotions  commenced  at  8.30  o'clock,  at  which  hour 
there  was  a  very  large  attendance  of  the  members 
of  the  sodality,  which  has  done  much  to  further  the 
religious  interests  of  the  Publicans'  Assistants  in 
Dublin." 

Most  publicans'  assistants  are  destined  to  become 
publicans,  and,  as  a  rule,  they  are  generous  sub- 
scribers to  the  priests.  The  rivalry  between  the 
Dominicans  in  Dominick  Street  and  the  Jesuits  in 
Gardiner  Street  for  lucrative  societies,  like  this  sodality, 
was  never  more  humorously  exemplified  than  in  the 
struggle  between  them  for  the  spiritual  patronage  of 
the  grocers'  assistants.  First  the  Dominicans  an- 
nounced in  all  the  papers  that  they  were  going  to 
start  a  sodality  for  the  Grocers'  Assistants,  and  sum- 
moned by  advertisement  all  the  assistants  to  take 
part  in  the  great,  new,  and  original,  and  only  genuine 
society  which  was  to  be  founded  in  their  sole  interests. 
They  started  their  society  accordingly,  and  the  above 
paragraph  records  one  of  its  meetings.  But  the 
Jesuits  thereupon  announced  that  they  had  already 
an  old-established  Grocers'  Assistants'  Sodality  in  ex- 
istence, and  they  issued  advertisements  in  the  papers, 
calling  upon  the  grocers'  assistants  to  be  true  to  their 
old  spiritual  guardians,  the  Jesuits.  For  many  months 
afterwards  the  rival  Grocers'  Assistants'  Sodalities  gave 
considerable  amusement  to  those  who  took  notice  of 
the  occurrence.  The  result  of  the  competition  between 
the  Jesuits  and  the  Dominicans  for  the  control  of  the 
young  publicans  was  that  the  Carmelites  in  White- 
friars  Street  publicly  announced  the  foundation  by 
them  of  a  third  Grocers'  Assistants'  Society ;  and 
now  the  spiritual   interests  of   the   future    publicans 

'   Irish  Daily  Independent,  January  6,  1902. 


THE  DOMINICANS  341 

of  Dublin  are  competitively  catered  for  by  three 
orders  of  regular  priests.  It  may  be  safely  asserted 
that  not  one  of  those  competing  orders  advises  the 
young  men  to  seek  any  other  way  of  living,  or  to 
be  in  any  respect  less  keen  in  pushing  the  sale  of 
drink  when  they  become  masters  than  they  would 
be  if  they  had  not  joined  the  sodalities. 

The  Dominicans  keep  up  a  round  of  requiem  masses, 
festivals,  and  other  celebrations  at  their  church,  of 
which  v/e  will  take  the  following  as  an  instance  : — 

"Yesterday  requiem  mass  was  celebrated  for  the 
repose  of  the  soul  of  the  Very  Eev.  J.  D.  Slattery, 
who  was  a  member  of  the  community,  and  who  died 
in  Trinidad,  West  Indies,  last  month.  A-'ery  Rev.  J.  D. 
Fitzgibbon  acted  as  celebrant ;  Very  Rev.  T.  A.  Tighe, 
Prior  of  Waterford,  acted  as  deacon ;  and  Rev.  H.  S. 
Glendon,  of  St.  Saviour's,  as  sub-deacon.  The  Most  Rev. 
Dr.  O'Callaghan,  O.P.,  Bishop  of  Cork,  presided." 

Then  follows  a  lengthened  list  of  priests  who 
attended. 

The  Dominicans  also  send  out  priests  to  preach 
charity  sermons,  in  return  for  a  fee,  for  other  "  chari- 
table "  institutions  of  a  religious  nature  in  Dublin. 
And  Dr.  Keane,  O.P.,  is  as  fiercely  indignant  as  Father 
Wheeler  the  Jesuit,  that  any  of  the  50,000  insufficiently 
clothed  and  fed  young  Roman  Catholics  of  Dublin 
should  be  helped  by  kindly  Protestants.  If  ever  a 
Jesuit  makes  a  strong  statement  which  attracts  public 
notice,  one  of  the  Dominicans  always  feels  bound  to 
say  something  stronger  on  the  same  subject.  Dr.  Keane 
is  reported  as  saying : — 

"  They  knew  when  the  bland  speech  was  on  their 
enemy's  lips  of  fair  promises,  and  hands  tilled  with 
gifts  proffered  to  the  man  who  apostatised  from  his 
allegiance   to   the   revealed   religion.      The   rude   pro- 


342  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

gramme  had  been  abandoned,  the  persecuting  tires 
had  been  extinguished,  but  Satan's  aim  was  always 
the  same.  He  had  a  ministry  of  war  in  this  city  ; 
they  knew  the  institution  which  now  enshrined  his 
spirit  and  his  work;  they  knew  it  under  the  foul 
name  of  the  proselytising  system,  and  only  the  divine 
mind  which  fully  comprehended  the  value  of  an  im- 
mortal soul  could  measure  and  weigh  accurately 
the  meaning,  the  purpose,  the  air,  and  the  spirit  of 
the  thing  called  the  proselytising  system.  It  was 
Satan's  act.  It  was  an  appalling  description  to  utter 
of  work  done  by  human  beings  who  brushed  past  us 
in  the  streets  of  the  city.  It  was  true,  and  it  was 
for  God's  honour  that  its  truth  should  be  recognised 
and  realised.  Their  work  was  the  devil's  work:  it 
was  work  designed  to  destroy  the  soul."^ 

It  is  stated  that  one  of  the  objectionable  Dublin 
sacerdotal  weekly  prints  either  belongs  to,  or  is  in- 
spired by,  the  Dominicans.  Sometimes  it  is  said  to 
belong  to  the  Jesuits.  But  as  there  is  so  little 
difference  between  the  sentiments  of  either  of  those 
competing  bodies  of  priests,  it  is  not  vital  to  us  to 
know  which  of  them  it  belongs  to  or  takes  its  in- 
spiration from.  But  its  persistent  denunciations  of 
the  "  Sour-faces,"  as  it  calls  the  Dublin  Protestants, 
would  seem  to  be  a  chip  off  the  same  block  as  Father 
Keane's  denunciation  of  the  acts  of  Satan  and  "  devil's 
work "  done  "  by  human  beings  who  brushed  past  us 
in  the  city." 

The  Dominicans  do  not  omit  to  celebrate  the  feast 
of  St.  Dominick  with  Mat.  On  the  occasion  of  that 
anniversary  last  year,  we  are  informed : — 

"  Solemn  High  Mass  was  celebrated  at  1 2  o'clock 
by  the  Rev.  Father  Hanway,  O.F.M. ;  Rev.  Father 
O'Reilly,  O.F.M.,  deacon;  Rev.  Father  White,  O.F.M., 
sub-deacon  ;  and  the  Rev.  Father  Butler,  O.P.,  master  of 

1  Ficoiuiiis  Journal,  February  17,  1902. 


FATHER  SHEEHAN,  NOVELIST  343 

ceremonies.  There  was  an  overflowing:  consrresration, 
large  numbers  bemg,  no  doubt,  attracted  by  the 
announcement  that  the  panegyric  of  the  saint  would 
be  preached  by  the  cultured  author  of  '  My  New 
Curate,'  the  Very  Rev.  P.  A.  Sheehan,  P.P.,  Doneraile. 
Nor  were  those  who  expected  a  rare  intellectual  treat 
disappointed  in  Father  Sheehan's  eloquent  discourse, 
which  was  listened  to  with  rapt  attention."  ^ 

Father  Sheehan  preached  a  panegyric  of  St.Dominick; 
and  he  is  reported  as  having  condemned  "  the  gospel 
of  savage  strength  and  ferocity,  of  furious  pride  and 
rebellion,  of  Satanic  maUce  and  ingenuity — the  flower 
and  the  fruit "  of  which  were  "  such  heroes  as  Luther, 
Mahomet,  and  Cromwell."  That  is  almost  as  hard  as 
Father  Keane,  or  the  priests'  weekly  paper,  on  the 
"  Sour-faces  "  !  Father  Sheehan  writes  for  the  Bosary, 
the  Dominican  counterblast  to  the  Jesuits'  monthly 
known  as  the  Neio  Ireland  Review.  His  novel  appears 
to  have  been  read  by  Protestants  in  the  belief  that  they 
found  in  it  a  true  representation  of  the  Catholic  priest. 
It  is  such  an  unusual  thing  to  get  a  readable  description 
of  a  priest's  life  and  work  from  a  priest,  that  Father 
Sheehan  has  naturally  got  many  readers.  Now,  nothing 
is  farther  from  my  intention  than  to  disparage  Father 
Sheehan.  He  writes  fiction :  I  write  fact.  But  I  am 
quite  as  competent  to  speak  about  Ireland,  to  put  it 
mildly,  as  Father  Sheehan  is.  I  have  lived  all  my  life 
in  Ireland.  He,  I  understand,  has  not  done  so.  And  I 
feel  it  my  duty  to  state  that  there  are  no  such  esthnable 
priests  in  Ireland  as  the  priest  in  Father  Sheehan's 
book.  Father  Sheehan  tells  us  at  the  opening  of  one 
of  his  other  stories,  that  he  was  "  indulging  in  a  day- 
dream "  when  he  received  a  letter  from  his  printer  in 
America  asking  him  for  copy.     I  can  well  believe  him. 

'  Frcemnn's  Joiirnul,  August  5,  1901. 


344  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

His  books  have  all  the  appearance  of  having  been 
written  by  a  man  who  was  "  in  a  day-dream  "  when  he 
wrote  them.  It  is,  to  me,  a  satisfactory  discovery  to 
find  even  one  Irish  priest  spending  his  day-dreams  in 
writing  something  readable.  So  many  other  priests  in 
Ireland  dream  away  their  days  in  questionable  and 
often  reprehensible  work.  But  if  the  ideal  priest  in 
Father  Sheehan's  book  be  an  Irish  priest,  then  our 
priest  is  double-faced,  and  keeps  his  best  face  for  the 
edification  of  the  stranger  and  his  disagreeable  face  for 
Ireland. 

The  Jesuits,  fearing  lest  some  advantage  should  result 
to  the  Dominicans  from  their  connection  with  Father 
Sheehan,  also  took  to  booming  him  in  a  publication  of 
theirs^ — a  childish  magazine,  issued  in  connection  with 
their  University  College.  Father  Sheehan,  interviewed 
by  one  of  the  Jesuits'  contributors,  is  reported  as  saying 
that  he  has  received  "  numbers  of  letters,  from  clergy  of 
various  denominations  in  England  and  America,"  thank- 
ing him  "  for  giving  them  an  entirely  new  revelation  as 
to  what  a  Catholic  priest  really  is."  Just  so,  his  priests 
are  quite  different  from  the  priests  that  we  meet,  and 
they  are  a  "  new  revelation  "  not  alone  to  Protestants, 
out  to  Roman  Catholics.  Father  Sheehan  is  urged  on 
by  his  interviewer  to  "  give  to  non-Catholics  an  insight 
into  the  ethos  of  our  religion  as  it  is  represented  by 
the  Irish  priests."  That  is  to  say,  he  is  invited  to 
idealise  the  religion  for  the  edification  of  non-Catholics 
in  the  same  way  as  he  has  idealised  the  iiricst.  Father 
Sheehan  is  further  represented  as  saying  :  "  What  I  fear 
is  that  my  writings  may  be  read  by  the  ignorant,  and, 
perhaps,  perverted  to  evil  purposes."  There  speaks  the 
real  Irish  priest.  If  he  had  written  only  what  he  believed 
to  be  good  and  true,  how  could  he  fear  that  his  writings 

1  St.  Stephen's,  February  1902. 


DOMINICAN  PROTECTION   FOR  GIRLS     345 

might  be  perverted  to  evil  purposes  ?  There  he  shows 
the  real  Irish  priest's  terror  of  seeing  knowledge  and 
truth  come  to  the  ignorant. 

"  If  I  had  to  acknowledge  any  master,  it  would  be 
rather  Shelley,"  says  Father  Sheehan.  "  I  mean  the 
poet,  not  the  atheist."  Thus,  in  our  sacerdotal  novelist's 
opinion,  Shelley  was  also  a  double-faced  man  who 
could  doti'  his  religious  convictions  to  suit  his  poetry. 
Let  me  close  my  remarks  about  Father  Sheehan,  which 
are  solely  attributable  to  his  appearance  in  a  Dominican 
pulpit  in  Dublin — and  whom  I  have  no  intention  of  dis- 
paraging— -by  a  quotation  from  himself:  "And  now  if 
you  will  allow  me,"  he  said  to  his  interviewer,  "  I  should 
like  to  show  you  my  garden,  for  it  is  my  great  delight, 
and  I  think  if  I  were  tempted  to  pride  myself  it  would 
be  more  on  account  of  my  begonias  than  my  books." 
Father  Sheehan's  fictitious  priests  are  as  unlike  the 
real  priests  as  his  begonias  are  unlike  the  daisies  and 
dandelions  of  Doneraile. 

The  Dominicans  recently  started  an  institution 
known  as  St.  Kevin's  House,  at  Rutland  Square,  the 
rear  of  which  abuts  a  lane  at  the  back  of  their  priory. 
Rutland  Square  was  once  inhabited  by  wealthy  people, 
but  is  now  being  rapidly  deserted  like  Gardiner  Street. 
The  Dominicans  appear  to  have  purchased  two  of  its 
fine  houses  with  the  object,  in  their  own  words,  "  of 
providing  a  residence  for  respectable  Catholic  girls 
living  in  Dublin,  either  as  employees,  or  as  students, 
seeking  to  qualify  themselves  for  one  or  another  of  the 
various  employments  now  open  to  women." 

I  have  carefully  considered  this  Dominican  venture. 
But  I  cannot  see  why  those  bachelor  regular  priests 
should  consider  themselves  qualified  to  set  up  a 
boarding-house  for  young  Catholic  girls  away  from 
home.     I   should    implore,  if  my  words    could   reach 


346  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

them,  the  parents  of  such  girls  to  put  them  under 
respectable  lay  custody.  I  attribute  nothing  in  the 
shape  of  "  devil's  work,"  to  use  Father  Keane's  words, 
to  those  Dominicans  in  respect  of  this  house.  The  worst 
that  I  attribute  to  such  a  policy  is,  that  sacerdotal 
domination  over  those  girls  will  probably  break  their 
spu'its,  enervate  them,  and  make  them  failures  in  life. 
CathoHc  business  girls  are  well  able  to  take  care  of 
themselves.  It  is  from  their  "  friends "  only  they 
need  to  be  saved.  Was  it  not  an  impropriety 
to  start  such  a  house  ?  The  city  is  full  of  nuns ; 
and  the  undertaking  would  have  more  appropriately 
devolved  upon  one  of  our  numerous  orders  of  nuns  in 
connection  with  one  of  their  convents.  I  find  from 
the  report  of  this  St.  Kevin's  House  which  is  published,^ 
that  it  is  not  nuns  who  are  kept  in  it  as  managers ; 
which  is  a  strange  circumstance,  seeing  that  the  priests 
are  continually  advocating  the  installation  of  nuns  in 
our  county  institutions,  such  as  workhouses,  asylums, 
and  so  forth.  Archbishop  Walsh  appears  to  me  to  dis- 
play his  episcopal  inexperience  of  everything  connected 
with  women  by  given  this  Dominican  boarding-house 
for  girls  his  blessing.  I  am  inclined  to  put  everything 
of  this  sort  in  the  most  charitable  light,  not  alone  for 
Archbishop  Walsh,  but  for  every  priest  in  Ireland, 
owing  to  the  system  under  which  they  are  trained. 
But  it  surprises  me  that  he  should  be  found  present, 
supporting  by  a  long  speech  this  novel  Dominican 
venture.  He  has  not  a  word  to  say  in  explanation  as 
to  why  the  Dominicans  should  have  charged  them- 
selves with  such  a  delicate  duty  as  the  custodianship  of 
young  Catholic  girls  away  from  home.  He  is  vapoury 
about  his  voluminous  correspondence,  about  his  exact- 
ing duties  as  censor  of  stage  plays,  about  the  revival 

^  Eveniny  Telegraph,  1 901. 


SAINT  FRANCIS   OF  ASSISI  347 

of  the  Irish  language,  and  other  inane  trivialities,  but 
he  leaves  the  root  of  the  question  untouched. 

Why  are  there  not  Roman  Catholic  Young  Women's 
Christian  Associations  under  combined  lay  and  clerical 
management  ?  What  a  picture  the  establishment  of 
this  house  presents,  by  inference,  of  Catholic  Ireland ! 
In  this  Roman  Catholic  city  of  Dublin,  containing  so 
many  respectable  Catholic  families,  is  it  insinuated  that 
decently  bred  girls  cannot  safely  come  up  to  the  city 
to  transact  their  business  or  pursue  their  studies  with- 
out being  placed  under  the  special  protection  of  the 
bachelor  priests  of  the  Dominican  Order  ?  I  think  the 
establishment  of  this  novel  house  touches  a  high- 
water  mark  in  23riestly  interference  with  secular  affairs 
in  Ireland.  Indeed  one  could  not  set  limits  to  the 
presumption  of  our  priests,  if  they  were  not  checked 
by  some  independent  criticism.  I  happened  to  be 
speaking  recently  to  a  man  who  carries  on  his  business 
not  far  from  this  Dominican  church — an  unpretentious, 
well-informed  Catholic.  His  words  to  me  were :  "  If  it 
were  not  for  the  check  put  upon  our  priests  by  the 
intelligence  of  large  cities  like  Dublin,  they  would 
run  such  a  rig  with  themselves  that  we  would  have  a 
revolution  in  the  country  in  a  very  feAv  years.  Their 
behaviour,  both  as  to  church  building  and  as  given 
forth  in  their  public  utterances,  is  ostentatious  and 
nonsensical,  and  they  stand  badly  in  want  of  criticism 
from  the  better-class  Catholics  !  " 

The  Franciscans  at  Merchant's  Quay  claim  the 
honour  of  belonging  to  an  order,  of  which  the 
superior-general  at  Rome  is  an  Irishman,  the  Rev. 
David  Fleming,  who  "  enjoys  the  distinction  of  being 
the  first  Irishman  yet  elected  as  head  of  the  great 
Franciscan  Order,  and  is  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
living  sons  of  the  seraphic  patriarch.     Father  David  is 


348  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

the  104th  successor  of  St.  Francis  Assisi  as  Superior- 
General  of  the  Order  of  the  Friars  Minor.  His  sub- 
jects at  present  will  be  over  16,000  friars,  of  whom 
10,000  are  priests."  The  Irish  Catholics,  in  their 
pitiable  condition,  cannot  feel  much  elation  at  Father 
Fleming's  promotion.  How  will  it  console  them  for 
their  own  position  ?  It  reminds  me  of  a  story  told 
to  me  by  an  Irish  lady,  still  living,  of  an  experience 
she  once  had  at  Assisi.  She  had  been  travelling  in 
the  Apennines  with  her  sister,  and  found  herself  at 
Assisi.  Her  sister  was  unexpectedly  compelled  to  go 
to  Rome,  and  the  lady  was  left  to  her  own  resources 
in  the  town  of  the  seraphic  patriarch.  She  determined 
to  go  north  to  Perugia,  having  got  tired  of  the  poverty 
and  wretchedness  of  the  locality.  The  only  sight 
worthy  of  notice  was  the  army  of  brawny,  fat  young 
monks  in  their  brown  habits  marching  out  of  the  large 
monastery  every  morning,  with  their  empty  begging 
sacks  on  their  arms,  and  dispersing  themselves  all 
over  the  country ;  and  their  return  in  the  evening 
with  their  full  sacks  containing  the  day's  gleanings  on 
their  shoulders.  The  people  in  the  locality  were  in- 
finitely poorer  than  in  any  part  of  Ireland ;  but  the 
monks  were  fat  and  rich.  She  determined  to  depart 
from  Assisi,  being  weary  of  the  wretchedness  of 
the  place;  and  presented  a  Bank  of  England  five- 
pound  note  to  the  hotel-keeper  to  settle  her  account. 
He  was  unable  to  change  it.  He  tried  every  shop 
in  Assisi  for  change,  but  without  success.  The  lady 
herself  took  the  note  to  the  railway  station,  but  the 
station-master  could  not  change  it.  There  was  not  two 
pounds'  worth  of  Italian  money  in  the  town.  At  length 
the  hotel-keeper  suggested  that  Father  Seraphino  at 
the  monastery  should  be  tried.  I  do  not  give  the 
prior's  real  name.     Accordingly  the  lady  betook  her- 


THE   DUBLIN  JESUITS  349 

self  to  the  gigantic  establishment  of  the  seraphic 
patriarch.  She  spoke  Italian  well,  and,  in  an  interview 
with  the  prior,  explained  her  position  and  asked  for 
change.  He  at  once  gave  her  the  money,  and  when 
she  oftered  him  a  gratuity  for  the  order  he  refused 
it,  exclaiming :  "  Yerra,  Erin  go  Bragh  !  Aren't  you 
from  Ireland  like  meself  ?  Let  us  talk  English.  My 
name  is  O'Hoolahan  [I  do  not  give  the  real  name], 
and  I'm  glad  to  see  any  one  from  the  old  sod.  Shake 
hands ! " 

The  Congregation  of  the  Holy  Ghost  at  Blackrock 
and  at  Rathmincs  own  remunerative  boarding-schools 
and  day-schools.  They  employ  a  certain  number  of 
laymen  as  teachers  in  those  schools,  and  their  pupils 
earn  larger  result  fees  for  them  than  any  priests' 
pupils  in  Ireland  at  the  Intermediate  examinations. 
All  priestly  schools  keep  Irish  laymen  out  of  work, 
and  give  an  education  which,  if  we  may  trust  Bishop 
O'Dwyer,  produces  those  "  tUdass^s  Catholic  young 
men"  at  whom  he  sneers.  The  French  priests  hear 
confessions,  say  masses,  and  do  the  formal  priestly  work 
of  the  other  orders ;  they  "  do  the  needful,"  as  Father 
Ebenrecht  once  publicly  described  his  own  action  at  a 
mil4e  at  Glasnevin  cemetery. 

The  Society  of  Jesus  in  Upper  Gardiner  Street  does 
a  large  business  in  confessions,  masses,  retreats,  and 
confraternities.  The  same  society,  at  Milltown  Park, 
devotes  itself  to  training  the  novices  of  the  order, 
and  in  giving  retreats  both  to  "  lay  gentlemen  and 
to  ecclesiastics,"  as  they  put  it  in  their  advertise- 
ments. They  have,  at  that  place,  a  line  demesne  and 
gentleman's  residence,  called  Milltown  Park — one  of 
the  many  gentlemen's  residences  which  have  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  religious  orders  in  Dublin — and 
there,  for  a  given  sum  per  week,  any  "  commercial  or 


350  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

professional  gentleman "  may  be  boarded,  and  have 
all  the  wants  of  his  soul  attended  to  besides,  by  the 
Jesuits.  They  advertise  their  retreats  at  this  place 
with  great  energy,  and  they  have  their  regular  clienUle 
of  customers  like  a  fashionable  boarding  -  house  or 
sanatorium.  They  give  separate  retreats  "  for  the 
clergy"  and  for  the  laity;  and,  at  certain  seasons  of 
the  year,  the  grounds  of  this  demesne  will  be  seen 
full  of  country  priests  taking  gentle  exercise  in  its 
avenues  and  lawns,  and  thereby  making  reparation 
to  God,  in  the  most  comfortable  way  possible,  for  all 
the  iniquities  committed  by  them  during  the  previous 
six  or  twelve  months.  The  advertisement  of  one  of 
those  retreats  reads  as  follows : — 

"  As  all  the  rooms  are  now  engaged  for  the  Ecclesi- 
astical Retreat,  beginning  9th  September,  an  extra  one 
will  commence  at  the  above  address  on  Monday  even- 
ing, 1 6th  September.  To  prevent  disappointment,  early 
application  for  cards  of  admission  is  requested."  ^ 

The  Jesuits,  not  to  be  outdone  by  the  St.  Kevin's 
House  branch  of  the  Dominican  business,  started  a 
branch  of  the  Society  for  the  Protection  of  Catholic 
Girls,  a  London  institution,  in  Dublin.  The  Jesuits  had 
the  astuteness  to  bring  the  French  Sisters  of  Charity 
into  the  scheme  along  with  them,  and  Father  Thomas 
Finlay,  S.J,,  sparing  a  few  moments  from  the  Royal  Uni- 
versity and  Technical  Instruction  department,  moved : — 

"  That  a  general  committee  be  appointed,  consisting 
of  the  following  ladies,  who  had  kindly  consented  to 
act:  Lady  Castlerosse,  Lady  Margaret  Domville,  Lady 
Dease,  the  Hon.  Mrs.  Ross  of  Bladensburg,  Lady  Cruise, 
Mrs.  Carton,  Mrs.  Bacon,  Mrs.  Brown,  Miss  Boland,  Mrs. 
Aliaga  Kelly,  Mrs.  Charles  Martin,  Mrs.  Moore,  Miss 

1  Freeman's  Journal,  August  24,  1901. 


Poor  Roman  Catholic  Women,  Dublin 

'The  thousands  of  dejected,  poor  Roman  Catholic  women  who  live  upon  the 
Dublin  pavements  in  misery  "  (p.  351). 


Poou  Roman  Catholic  Women,  Dublin 

'Bachelors,  bred  in  Maynooth,  they  discover  no  sympathy  with  the  struggling, 
distraught  fathers  ;  ailing,  hopeless  mothers,  Ac."  (p.  330). 


JESUIT   PROTECTION   FOR   GIRLS       351 

A.  Mooney,  Mrs.  Mulhall,  Mrs.  M'Grath,  Miss  O'Connor, 
Mrs.  O'Brien,  Mrs.  Pratt,  Miss  Power,  Mrs.  Plunkett, 
Miss  Scallan,  and  Miss  Scully." 

If  those  ladies  had  taken  the  initiative  in  this  matter 
themselves,  and  it"  they  had  really  intended  to  do  any 
practical  work  in  connection  with  the  society,  why 
could  they  not  act  without  the  Jesuits  ?  And,  oh,  why 
are  "they  never  called  together  to  do  some  real  good 
to  the  thousands  of  dejected,  poor,  Catholic  Avomen 
who  live  upon  the  Dublin  pavements  in  misery  ?  The 
object  of  this  society  seems  to  be  to  watch  better-class 
Catholic  girls  who  leave  Ireland  for  America  and  the 
Colonies,  hunt  them  up  at  their  OAvn  homes  before 
starting,  put  them  under  priestly  custody,  and  hand 
them  over  to  the  priests'  care  in  the  lands  to  which 
they  emigrate — a  foreign  and  colonial  branch  of  the 
business  of  which  St.  Kevin's  House  represents  the 
home  department.  The  end  assured  is,  that  the  girls 
remain  pliable  subjects,  under  the  priests'  influence 
even  when  they  get  out  of  this  Irish  pandemonium. 
Father  Delany  —  a  possible  provost  of  the  new 
Priests'  University — drew  an  awful  picture  of  "  an 
individual "  who  was  arrested  on  board  one  of  the 
German  Transatlantic  liners,  in  the  act  of  kidnapping 
"  two  quite  young  girls."  This  "  individual  "  had  "  over 
20,000  francs  in  his  possession,  and  also  jewellery  to 
at  least  equal  value."  Why  should  Catholic  girls  be 
so  especially  weak,  so  particularly  destitute  of  capable 
friends  and  relatives  to  advise  them  ?  It  is  amazing 
that  Catholic  ladies  of  position  can  be  found  ready 
to  be  drawn  into  every  undertaking  which  our  regular 
priests  find  it  to  their  own  advantage  to  take  up.  If 
the  priests  gave  our  Catholic  ladies  and  laymen  the 
management  of  the  hospitals  of  Dublin,  or  some  repre- 
sentative and  responsible  share  in  any  important  matter 


352  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

connected  with  their  own  church,  it  would  be  well  for 
the  community.  But  instead  of  playing  the  game  in 
most  of  those  priestly  schemes,  our  ladies  are  dead 
pawns  on  the  sacerdotal  chessboard. 

The  Jesuit  Society  at  Stephen's  Green  conducts 
the  remunerative  institution  known  as  the  University 
College.  Five  of  the  Jesuit  priests  have  been  appointed, 
without  examination,  to  the  position  of  Fellows  of  the 
Royal  University,  at  the  combined  salary  of  ;^2000  paid 
out  of  the  national  purse.  It  is  stated  that  a  Jesuit 
once  presented  himself  for  examination  for  a  Junior 
Fellowship,  which  is  equivalent  to  a  studentship,  and 
was  beaten  by  a  young  lady  who  secured  the  prize,  ;^200 
a  year  for  a  given  number  of  years.  It  is  also  stated 
that  the  Jesuit  was  soon  afterwards  appointed,  with- 
out examination,  to  a  Senior  Fellowship  at  ii^400  a 
year  !  As  half  the  entire  number  of  Fellows  of  the 
State-subsidised  Royal  jUniversity  teach  at  this  Jesuits' 
College,  receiving  ^400  each  per  annum  for  so  doing, 
the  result  is  that  the  lectures  and  courses  of  study  at 
the  place  are  crowded  with  students  about  to  present 
themselves  for  examination  at  the  Royal  University, 
knowing  that  they  stand  a  good  chance  of  being  ex- 
amined by  the  lecturing  Fellows.  There  is,  as  may  be 
supposed,  no  representative  or  lay  authority  in  this 
college.  Though  it  is  supported  by  Government  money 
it  is  entirely  managed  by  the  priests  ;  and  the  Catholic 
lay  Fellows  of  the  Royal  University  who  teach  in  it, 
have  no  place  in  its  governing  body. 

Things  are  done  in  Ireland  which  arc  done  nowhere 
else  out  of  Bedlam  ;  and  the  endowment  and  manage- 
ment of  this  Jesuit  emporium  afford  an  illustration  of 
the  fact. 

The  Jesuit  Society  has  a  very  large  school,  called 
Belvedere  College,  at  Great  Denmark  Street — one  of 


A  JESUIT'S   LIFE  353 

the  many  noblemen's  houses  which  now  belong  to 
religious  in  Ireland — which  acts  as  a  feeder  for  their 
University  College  at  Stephen's  Green.  Both  institu- 
tions are  lucrative,  and  deprive  the  Dublin  Catholic  lay- 
men of  much  sadly-needed  employment.  Poorly  paid 
lay  teachers  do  the  hardest  work  in  all  priestly  schools, 
but  the  priests  get  all  the  honour  and  profit.  The  priests 
do  their  work,  amongst  other  things,  in  saturating  the 
boys'  minds  with  blind  "faith"  in  sacerdotal  infallibility. 
Illustrative  of  the  Jesuits'  "  work  "  in  their  chapel  at 
Gardiner  Street,  I  happened  to  attend  a  meeting  held 
in  one  of  the  side-chapels  there  one  evening.  It  was 
a  meeting  of  young  men,  and  was  addressed  by  the 
"  spiritual  director "  of  the  guild  or  sodality.  After 
formal  prayers  had  been  gone  through — the  recitation 
of  the  rosary  at  lightning  speed,  I  think  it  was,  and 
the  singing  of  a  hymn — the  spiritual  director  addressed 
the  meeting.     He  said  : — 

"There  are  two  members  of  our  community,  two 
devoted  priests,  two  saintly  and  holy  men,  lying  dead 
in  this  church  to-night ;  but  though  their  bodies  are 
dead,  their  souls  are  in  heaven  with  God,  to  live  in  bliss 
there  for  ever  as  the  reward  of  their  saintly  lives  upon 
earth.  Oh,  the  holiness,  the  piety,  the  sanctification  of 
those  two  good  priests!  What  do  not  the  people  of 
Dublin  owe  to  them  ?  Their  life  was  one  continual  act 
of  glorification  to  God.  Many  of  you  who  are  listening 
to  me,  and  if  not  you,  then  others  who  are  not  listening 
to  me,  perhaps  owe  your  baptism  to  the  ministrations  of 
those  two  holy  priests.  It  was  they  who  received  you 
into  the  Church  and  cleansed  you  from  the  stain  of 
original  sin.  How  grateful  you  should  be  to  them, 
to  those  holy  priests,  who,  at  that  early  stage  of  your 
existence,  saved  you  from  all  the  consequences  of  your 
first  parents'  fall.  And  then,  when  you  became  a  little 
older,  it  was  they,  perhaps,  who  heard  your  first  confes- 
sion and  granted  you  absolution,  and  enabled  you  to 

z 


354  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

make  your  peace  with  God  after  you  hiad  offended  His 
majesty  for  the  tirst  time.  Aud  then,  again,  whenever 
you  chanced  to  fall  it  was  to  them  you  came  to  get 
absolution  and  forgiveness,  so  that  you  might  be  saved 
from  the  natural  punishments  of  your  sins.  And  when 
your  soul  was  cleansed  after  the  pronouncement  of 
absolution,  it  was  from  their  hands  that  you  received 
the  body  and  blood,  soul  and  divinity,  of  Christ  in  the 
holy  sacrament  of  the  altar.  From  their  hands,  the 
hands  of  those  two  pious  priests,  you  received  the  divine 
body  and  blood  of  our  Lord  Himself  into  your  very  beings. 
Perhaps  it  was  by  the  efforts  of  those  two  holy  priests,  by 
their  prayers  and  by  their  holy  masses  offered  up  to 
God,  that  the  souls  of  your  beloved  fathers,  mothers, 
or  other  near  and  dear  relatives  were  speedily  released 
from  the  fires  of  purgatory.  Perhaps,  too,  it  was  by  the 
ministrations  of  those  two  holy  priests  that  your  fathers, 
or  mothers,  or  dear  deceased  relatives  received  extreme 
unction  and  participated  in  the  all-powerful  rites  of 
our  holy  mother  the  Church,  which  enabled  them  to 
go  before  their  last  Judge  with  confidence.  Oh,  what 
do  you  not  owe,  what  do  not  thousands  of  others  owe 
to  the  ministrations  of  those  two  holy  priests  who  are 
now  lying  dead  upstairs !  What  nobler  or  grander  life 
could  be  imagined  than  theirs,  offering  up  masses  every 
day  of  their  lives,  at  which  the  stupendous  miracle  of 
transubstantiation  was  performed  times  without  num- 
ber, glorifying  God,  absolving  sinners,  and  administer- 
ing sacraments !  Their  whole  life  was  one  act  of  praise 
and  glorification  of  Almighty  God.  May  they  rest  in 
peace ! " 

If  all  this  had  been  merely  said  once,  and  if  he  had 
gone  on  to  give  the  young  men  some  practical  instruc- 
tion, there  would  not  be  so  much  to  object  to.  But 
every  statement  was  repeated  a  dozen  times,  and  he 
dawdled,  like  a  beagle  dwelling  on  scent,  over  the  praises 
of  his  two  colleagues,  who  had  chanced  to  die  on  the 
previous  day.    The  moral  of  it  for  the  young  men  listen- 


PRAYING   FOR   AND   PRAYING   TO       355 

ing  to  him  was  that,  if  all  the  miraculous  work  done  by 
those  two  priests  was  necessary  to  secure  an  entrance 
into  heaven,  then  assuredly  the  bulk  of  those  present 
had  a  very  small  chance  of  ever  getting  there,  except  by 
the  intervention  of  the  priests.  The  Jesuit  invited  the 
assembly  to  kneel  down  and  pray  for  the  repose  of  the 
souls  of  the  two  dead  priests ;  and  then  he  said  that 
they  might  assume  that  the  priests  were  in  heaven,  and 
he  asked  the  young  men  to  join  him  in  praying  to  the 
priests,  and  asking  the  priests,  from  their  position  close 
to  the  throne  of  God  in  heaven,  to  help  the  young  men 
in  their  struggles  in  life !  Carlyle  somewhere  defines 
paganism  as  "  a  bewildering,  inextricable  jungle  of  de- 
lusions, confusions,  falsehoods,  and  absurdities,  covering 
the  whole  field  of  life."  It  has  often  occurred  to  me, 
after  hearincf  such  sermons  as  this  Jesuit's,  that  our 
Roman  Catholicism,  as  preached  by  most  of  our  priests, 
is  equally  bewildering  and  confusing.  An  outsider  might 
be  inclined  to  think  that  the  young  men  who  attended 
that  meeting  went  away  with  confused  minds  upon  the 
subject  of  the  dead  priests.  But  that  is  not  so.  When 
they  put  on  their  hats  at  the  church  door  they  instantly 
forgot  all  about  the  incident.  "  Theirs  not  to  reason 
why  ! "  They  must  march  into  the  valley  of  death  with- 
out ever  exercising  their  reasons  upon  such  questions. 
Father  Kane,  the  Jesuit  whom  we  have  quoted  from 
before,  is  reported^  as  uttering  the  following  words  in  the 
course  of  "  an  impassioned  appeal "  in  Upper  Gardiner 
Street  pulpit.  Itwillserve  as  anotherillustration  of  Jesuit 
work.  He  is  dealing,  in  a  special  sermon,  with  the  sub- 
ject of  the  eucharist,  and  there  is  not  a  single  member 
amon<Tst  his  concrresration,  or  in  the  resfion  surroundinjj 
Upper  Gardiner  Street  Church,  who  feels  inclined  to 
dispute  any  of  the  dogmas  preached  in  reference  to  the 

^  Freeman's  JouiTial,  February  28,  1902. 


356  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

holy  eucharist.  Yet  he  beats  the  empty  air  with  idle 
hands  and  brings  all  the  passion  and  power  that  he 
possesses,  as  if  he  were  speaking  to  an  audience  of 
erudite  sceptics,  to  bear  upon  the  threadbare  statements 
of  Catholic  belief : — 

"He  would  make  three  statements — No.  i,  showing 
his  hand,  he  would  say,  '  this  is  my  hand ' ;  No.  2, 
showing  a  statue  in  the  street,  he  would  say,  '  this  is 
O'Connell ' ;  No.  3,  showing  a  large  note,  he  would  say, 
'  this  is  £^.'  Statement  No.  i  was  a  plain  statement 
of  plain  facts  in  a  plain  way.  Granting  Christ's  omni- 
potence. His  statement,  '  this  is  My  body,'  was  a  plain 
statement  of  a  plain  fact  in  a  plain  way.  In  statement 
No.  2,  he  would  not  say  that  the  bronze  was  O'Connell, 
because  he  was  not  talking  about  the  material  of  the 
statue,  but  about  the  likeness.  It  was  the  thing  re- 
presented by  the  thought  that  was  O'Connell,  for  by 
the  very  nature  of  things  a  statue  was  a  sign  of  some- 
thing else.  Now,  was  bread  a  statue  or  likeness  of 
Christ's  body  ?  Was  bread,  by  the  very  nature  of  things, 
a  sign  of  Christ's  body  any  more  than  it  was  a  sign 
of  anything  else  ?  No,  certainly  not ;  and  therefore 
Christ's  words  were  not  like  his,  when  he  said  in  the 
presence  of  a  statue,  '  this  is  O'Connell.'  As  to  No.  3 
statement,  'this  is  ^5,'  a  bit  of  paper  was  not  £s,  but 
men  had  come  to  an  understanding  that  certain  bits  of 
paper,  stamped  and  marked  in  the  lawful  way,  were 
value  for  money." 

I  am  quite  sure  that  any  Jesuit  is  even  a  keener 
authority  on  stamped  paper  than  he  is  on  sacerdotal 
dogma.  But,  in  this  case,  he  is  flogging  a  dead  horse 
in  thus  expending  his  force  in  Upper  Gardiner  Street 
upon  "an  impassioned  appeal"  to  prove  the  real  presence 
of  Christ  in  the  eucharist.  Nobody  listening  to  him 
doubts  it.  There  are  hundreds  amongst  his  audience, 
such  is  their  "  faith,"  who  would  believe  him  if  he 
elaborated  a  chain  of  reasoning  to  prove  there  was  no 


JESUIT  BIGOTRY  357 

such  thing  as  poverty  or  ignorance  or  vice  in  Dublin. 
If  there  be  a  few  masculine  people  listening  to  him 
who  do  not  quite  believe  all  he  says,  they  are  indifferent 
people,  and  do  not  really  care  whether  his  statements 
are  true  or  false.  They  think  it  highly  probable  that 
what  he  says  may  be  true,  but  they  cannot  see  how  it 
affects  them  one  way  or  the  other  whether  it  is  true  or 
false.     Father  Kane  goes  on : — 

"  This  should  be  thoroughly  understood  beforehand, 
and  explained  in  the  most  clear,  emphatic,  and  un- 
mistakable manner.  Did  Christ  explain  beforehand 
in  a  way  absolutely  clear  and  utterly  unmistakable  "  as 
referring  "  to  the  bread  over  which  He  spoke  with  such 
strange  love,  and  with  such  solemn  mystery  these 
divine  words,  '  This  is  My  body,'  that  they  were  only 
the  same  as  with  the  bank-note  ?  The  mere  thought 
of  it  was  to  the  mind  absurd,  and  to  the  heart 
blasphemous ! " 

Father  Kane  will  not  entertain  the  possibility  of  there 
being  an  honourable  difference  of  opinion — a  phase  of 
mind  characteristic  of  ignorant  and  bigoted  people. 
It  appears  to  me  that  it  is  "  to  the  mind  absurd,  and 
to  the  heart  blasphemous" — I  say  it  without  calling 
the  truth  of  the  doctrine  into  question — that  our  priests 
should  be  preaching  such  unnecessary  and  threadbare 
trash,  trying  to  prove  things  which  nobody  wants  them 
to  prove,  and  denouncing  unbelievers  who  do  not  care 
a  rap  about  their  denunciations  ;  while  there  is  so  much 
practical  Christian  work  undone,  and  human  degrada- 
tion crying  aloud  to  Heaven  for  amelioration  in  their 
immediate  neighbourhood.  The  effeteness  of  sacer- 
dotalism is  well  exemplitied  by  such  polemics.  They 
show  us  the  priest  at  his  real  work.  It  is  not  because 
Christ  instituted  the  eucharist,  on  the  awful  night  pre- 
ceding His  crucifixion,  that  the  beUevers  in  Christianity 


358  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

in  the  Mecklenburgh  Street  area  should  continue  as 
they  are,  while  rich  Orders  weave  their  rhetorical  spells, 
Avith  no  other  consequence  than  the  collection  of  money 
from  the  credulous  people  attending  their  churches  ? 
Granted  that  the  sacrament  is  really  the  body  and 
blood  of  Christ.  What  then  ?  What  have  the  Jesuits 
got  to  do  with  that  fact  any  more  than  the  rest  of  us  ? 
That  is  no  reason  why  priests  should  shirk  their  proper 
work  and  'make  money  by  idle,  useless  speechifying, 
while  tens  of  thousands  of  lay  Catholics  for  whom 
they  are  responsible,  as  they  boast,  fester  in  unhappi- 
ness  and  vice  before  their  eyes.  Granted  that  every 
Roman  Catholic  doctrine  is  true ;  that  is  no  reason  why 
priests  should  be  idle,  rich  and  comfortable,  while 
thousands  of  our  Catholic  people  are  miserable  and 
vicious  all  around  us.  Granted  that  God  created 
the  world,  and  created  man ;  granted  that  our  first 
parents  fell ;  granted  that  God  redeemed  the  world ; 
granted  that  the  Blessed  Virgin  was  conceived  without 
original  sin  ;  granted  that  God  is  really  present  in  the 
sacrament  of  the  altar,  the  institution  of  which  was 
one  of  the  most  formal  and  least  practical  acts  of  His 
life ;  granted  that  Pope  Leo  XIII.  is  ninety-three  years 
of  age ;  granted  that  he  has  twice  renewed  the  College 
of  Cardinals ;  sfranted  that  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  is  a 
Catholic  ;  granted  that  the  Earl  and  Countess  of  Fingall 
are  Catholics ;  granted  everything  which  the  priests  ges- 
ticulate and  orate  about,  why  should  they  claim  credit 
for  the  existence  of  those  facts  ?  Why  should  those 
facts  relieve  them  of  the  onus  of  performing  Christian 
work  ;  for  ceremonial  is  not  Christian  work  ?  If  Christ 
and  the  Apostles  had  been  arrayed  in  shining  broad- 
cloth, drinking  expensive  wines,  smoking  high-priced 
tobacco,  walking  through  life  on  velvet,  while  a  Meck- 
lenburgh Street  area,  peopled  by  Christians,  one  of  the 


IMPERTINENCE  359 

"  most  immoral  dens  in  Europe,"  reeked  under  their 
nostrils  in  Palestine,  would  the  best  men  on  earth 
worship  Christ  to-day  ?  If  Christ  and  the  Apostles  had 
been  intriguing  with  Pilate  and  his  wife,  temporising 
with  Caiaphas,  fleecing  instead  of  feeding  the  multi- 
tudes, encouraging  the  people  to  revolt  against  Pilate 
and  the  Empire  he  represented,  while  they  boasted  of 
their  secret  influence  with  Pilate  in  securing  pay  and 
place  for  their  friends,  who  would  be  low  enough  to 
reverence  Christ  and  His  Apostles  to-day  ? 

What  a  fall  from  the  humility  and  self-sacrifice 
of  Jesus  to  the  body  of  men  who  style  themselves 
the  Society  of  Jesus,  for  instance,  in  so  many  parts  of 
the  world  to-day !  What  a  fall  from  Him  to  all  the 
Irish  priesthood  as  a  body.  How  many  legacies  did 
He  receive  from  dying  believers  in  His  divinity  ? 
What  building  contracts  did  He  sign  ?  What  price 
did  He  charge  for  His  mediation  with  His  Father  ? 

Our  Irish  public  boards  exult  in  lauding  the  achieve- 
ments of  great  men  and  nations  whom  they  flatter  but 
do  not  imitate.  Those  boards  have  ample  duties  of 
their  own ;  yet  we  continually  find  that  they  neglect 
them.  So  do  our  Roman  Catholic  secular  and  regular 
priests  behave  towards  Christ.  They  have  Christlike 
duties  to  perform  and  many  useful  functions  in  the 
social  system.  But  they  do  not  discharge  them.  They 
make  free  with  His  name ;  but  they  do  not  imitate  His 
conduct.  Indeed,  if  divine  justice  decided  to  destroy  the 
Mecklenburgh  Street  area,  the  priests  of  Dublin  could 
not  secure  exemption  by  presenting  a  self-audited  ac- 
count of  their  stewardship.  If  a  search  were  made  in 
that  impcrium  in  iviperio  for  a  number  of  just  men, 
for  whose  sake  the  region  might  be  saved  from  impend- 
ing doom,  the  presence  of  the  duty-shirking  priests 
alone  would  hardly  save  it  from  destruction.     I  am 


36o  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

quite  sure  there  are  many  just  men,  and  women  too,  in 
the  neighbourhood ;  but  the  priests,  by  their  indolence 
and  bigotry,  would  have  a  doubtful  claim  to  considera- 
tion. But  to  resume — it  is  not  a  pressing  duty  at  this 
age  of  the  world's  history  to  prove,  by  "  an  impassioned 
appeal  "  made  in  a  Dublin  church,  that  Christ  is  present 
in  the  sacrament.  That  is  an  axiom  of  Catholic  faith. 
But  all  priests  find  it  easier  to  deliver  "  impassioned 
appeals"  upon  abstract  subjects,  which  audiences  will 
accept,  than  to  do  Christlike  work  by  elevating  the 
poor  Catholic  people  who  are  wallowing  in  sin  at  their 
thresholds.  "  Listen  to  Luther,  an  apostate  priest,"  again 
cries  Father  Kane,  "  Mrs.  Luther  being  a  runaway  nun. 
.  .  .  Listen  to  Zwinglius,  an  apostate  j^riest  who  Jiad  been 
expelled  from  his  parish  for  his  immorality."  ^  Who 
can  prove  the  preacher's  chastity  for  us  ?  I  do  not 
impugn  it.  But,  if  Luther  was  bad,  which  I  do  not 
believe,  we  must  not  forget  that  Luther  was  a  priest, 
and  that  every  slur  cast  upon  him  is  an  aspersion  on 
sacerdotalism. 

The  Marist  Fathers  at  Lower  Leeson  Street  keep  a 
paying  day-school,  attended  by  a  number  of  pupils, 
taking  work  and  wages  thereby  from  the  laity,  and 
fastening  the  rule  of  the  priests  on  the  children. 

The  Oblates  of  Mary  Immaculate  at  Inchicore  work 
at  a  routine  of  confessions,  absolutions,  communions, 
masses,  and  confraternities ;  but  pride  themselves 
especially  upon  their  success  in  organising  pilgrimages 
from  Dublin  to  Rome.  The  Order  has  its|novitiate  in 
one  of  the  loveliest  positions  in  the  vicinity  of  Dublin,  at 
the  top  of  Galloping  Green  Hill,  outside  Stillorgan,  and 
the  junior  Oblates,  before  they  are  fit  for  the  glories  of 
Inchicore,  pass  their  time  at  Belcamp  Hall,  Raheny,  both 
sites  being  gentlemen's  places  purchased  by  the  Order. 

^  Irish  Catholic,  March  i,  1902. 


THE  OBLATES  OF   INCHICORE  361 

The  business  of  the  Oblates  may  be  gathered  from  the 
following  samples  of  their  work  : — 

"  Church  of  Mary  Immaculate,  Inchicore.  Visit  the 
entombment.  On  view  in  the  Crib  building  every  day 
until  Holy  Saturday,  The  representation  of  the  entomb- 
ment of  the  Lord  consists  of  fourteen  life-size  figures 
made  by  the  French  artist  who  modelled  the  famous 
group  for  the  Inchicore  Christmas  Crib."  ^ 

The  Oblates  make  a  specialty  of  waxwork  and  plaster 
exhibitions,  arranged  on  the  principle  of  Madame 
Tussaud.  At  Christmas  time  it  is  the  Crib,  represent- 
ing the  birth  of  our  Lord  in  the  stable  at  Bethlehem ; 
at  Easter  time,  as  we  have  seen,  it  is  the  entombment. 
Even  at  Madame  Tussaud's  I  have  always  felt  that  such 
exhibitions  are  misleading,  and  a  familiarity  with  great 
personages  which  only  a  showman  could  be  guilty  of. 
How  much  grosser  is  the  familiarity  when  the  actors  in 
those  scenes,  represented  in  wax  and  plaster,  are  the 
most  sacred  personages  in  Church  history,  and  when  the 
events  dishonoured  by  such  celebration  are  the  birth 
and  death  of  the  Redeemer  of  the  world.  But,  not- 
withstanding, we  hear  that — 

"  the  beautiful  Church  of  the  Oblates  was  crowded  yes- 
terday with  large  congregations  at  all  the  masses.  .  .  . 
The  Crib  was,  of  course,  a  great  centre  of  pious  devotion 
during  the  day.  Crowds  visited  the  building  in  which 
it  is  arranged  from  the  hour  at  which  it  was  opened  until 
the  divine  service  had  concluded.  It  is  truly  a  wonder- 
ful sight.  The  principal  picture  group  is  artistic  in  its 
completeness  and  perfection.  The  figures  of  the  various 
personages  who  had  the  inestimable  privilege  of  coming 
face  to  face  with  one  of  the  grandest  mysteries  of  the 
Church,  and  of  seeing  the  Redeemer  of  the  world  in  the 
lowly  stable  at  Bethlehem,  stand  out  lifehke  and  real 
amidst  surroundings  redolent  of  the  atmosphere  and 
the  magical  charm  of  the  East." 

'  Free^man's  Journal,  March  i,  1902. 


^62  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

Thus  the  incarnation  of  God  the  Son,  instead  of  being 
a  divine  fact,  is  claimed  as  "  a  mystery  of  the  Church." 
What  rubbish  !  but  what  an  amount  of  money  it  must 
draw  into  the  safe-boxes  at  Inchicore  !  Another  sample 
of  the  Oblates'  work,  and  we  are  done  with  them : — 

"  After  1 2  o'clock  mass  to-morrow,  two  new  altars  of  the 
Sacred  Heart,  and  of  St.  Joseph  and  the  Holy  Souls, 
will  be  solemnly  blessed.  The  new  altars  are  mag- 
nificent specimens  of  Irish  workmanship.  The  high 
altar,  unlike  many  modern  high  altars,  is  in  perfect 
proportion  to  the  church,  and  does  not  dwarf  the  chan- 
cel. It  is  composed  of  specially  selected  Sicilian  marble, 
with  tabernacle  and  throne  in  purest  Carrara,  and  shafts 
of  columns  in  various  coloured  marbles.  .  .  .  Above  the 
tabernacle  is  the  throne,  which  is  a  gem  in  itself.  It  con- 
sists of  a  carved  octagon  cap  and  moulded  base  in  Carrara 
marble,  with  an  octagonal  shaft  in  most  delicate  marked 
Mexican  onyx.  The  altar  of  the  Sacred  Heart  has  been 
erected  by  Mr.  J.  O'C.  as  a  family  memorial.  The 
altar  of  St.  Joseph  and  the  Holy  Souls  is  a  memorial  to 
the  Rev.  Father  Brady,  O.M.I.,  erected  by  the  Women's 
Branch  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  and  by  friends  of 
the  Oblate  Fathers.  The  statues  of  the  Sacred  Heart, 
of  St.  Joseph  and  of  the  angels  at  the  high  altar,  as  well 
as  the  beautiful  tabernacles,  are  the  gifts  of  various 
benefactors." 

The  Inchicore  women  could  have  employed  the  money 
expended  on  this  altar  more  advantageously  in  the 
interiors  of  their  homes.  The  Oblates  also  go  in 
for  outdoor  processions  every  Sunday  in  the  month 
of  May,  in  which  the  children  of  the  neighbourhood 
take  part,  and  at  which  thousands  of  idle  people  attend 
to  hear  the  brass  bands  and  while  away  the  afternoon. 
Collections  are  made,  and  a  great  deal  of  money  is 
received  on  such  occasions. 

The  Passionist  Fathers  at  Mount  Argus  spend  their 
time  in  the  same  way  as  the  other  Orders : — 


THE  PASSIONISTS  363 

"During  the  week  large  congregations  attended  the 
services  of  the  Mission  at  the  above  church,  and  great 
numbers  approached  the  Sacred  Tribunal  of  Penance.^ 
On  this  evening  a  special  sermon  will  be  preached  on 
the  'Sacred  Heart,'  after  Avhich  the  congregation  will 
be  solemnly  consecrated.  The  Mission  will  conclude 
on  Sunday  evening  next  with  renewal  of  Baptismal 
Vows  and  imparting  of  the  Papal  Blessing." 

Their  great  specialty  consists  in  outdoor  processions 
on  Sundays  during  May  in  honour  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  at  which  brass  bands  and  hundreds  of  poor 
children  attend,  as  at  Inchicore. 

Like  Cardinal  Vaughan,  they  go  in  for  keeping 
"  relics," .  and  set  great  store  by  them. 

I  happened  to  be  in  the  smoke-room  of  the  House 
of  Commons  one  night  in  company  with  a  group  of 
Irish  members,  who  belonged  to  the  party  of  Mr. 
Parnell.  It  was  at  the  time  when  Mr.  Parnell  was  at 
the  zenith  of  his  power,  and  he  was  regarded  by  the 
general  body  of  the  Irish  members  and  the  great  mass 
of  the  Irish  people  much  in  the  same  way  as  Napoleon 
Bonaparte  was  regarded  by  the  French.  Irish  affairs 
are  petty  compared  with  the  affairs  of  the  French 
nation ;  and  the  position  of  Mr.  Parnell,  great  as  it 
was,  was  insignificant  compared  with  that  occupied 
by  Napoleon.  But  I  believe  the  inferiority  did  not 
lie  in  Mr.  Parnell  as  compared  with  Napoleon;  one 
man,  opportunities  considered,  was  as  capable  as  the 
other.  But  the  Catholic  Irish  are  immeasurably  in- 
ferior to  the  French,  and  that  made  all  the  differ- 
ence. When  a  Catholic  Irishman  emancipates  himself 
from  the  fear  of  the  priest  or  from  the  hypocrisy  of 
fear,  which  is  worse,  and  from  the  superstitious  prac- 
tices   inseparable  from  that  fear,  he  becomes  a  good 

'  Freeman's  Journal,  February  28,  1902. 


364  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

man.  But  the  mass  of  stay-at-home,  Irish  Cathohcs, 
who  Hve  and  die  in  the  shadow  of  the  example  and 
teaching  of  the  priests,  are  so  contemptible  a  body  politic 
that,  looking  over  their  past,  many  sincere  Irishmen 
deeply  regret  that  the  accident  of  birth  and  descent 
should  have  made  them  members  of  such  a  nation. 
The  group  of  Irish  members  were  talking  as  they  sat 
around  the  well-known  stove  in  the  smoke-room  of  the 
House  of  Commons.  Mr.  Parnell  suddenly  came  in, 
pale,  erect,  self-centred ;  and  those  who  were  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  stove  arose  instantly  to  their  feet. 
He  did  not  address  any  of  his  colleagues,  or  appear  to 
recognise  them ;  but  he  took  the  chair  which  was 
vacated  for  him  in  front  of  the  stove  and  sat  down. 
A  waiter  came  up  to  attend  to  him.  He  ordered  a 
lemon-squash,  and,  when  it  arrived,  he  placed  it  on  a 
ledge  near  the  stove.  He  then  put  his  hand  into 
the  tail-pocket  of  the  morning-coat  which  he  hap- 
pened to  be  wearing,  and  pulled  forth  a  bundle  of 
letters,  I  was  quite  close  to  him,  and  I  noticed  that 
the  letters  were  all  unopened.  An  awestruck  silence 
supervened  amongst  the  members  of  his  own  party, 
with  whom  I  was  sitting.  If  they  ventured  to  make 
a  remark  it  was  in  a  whisper,  and  they  seemed  quite 
cowed  by  the  close  presence  of  Mr.  Parnell.  I  was 
very  young  at  the  time,  and  I  felt  a  great  respect  for 
Mr.  Parnell,  as  I  do  at  present  for  his  memory ;  but  I 
was  not  so  overawed  as  the  members  of  Parliament. 
Mr.  Parnell  placed  the  letters  in  his  lap  and  went 
through  them  one  by  one,  examining  the  writing  on  the 
envelopes,  and,  in  some  instances,  feeling  a  letter  be- 
tween his  thumb  and  fingers.  He  selected  two  or  three 
letters  from  the  bundle,  and  placed  the  rest  on  the 
top  of  the  stove.  He  opened  and  read  the  selected 
letters,  and  then  burned  them.     He  then  took  down 


MR.   PARNELL  AND  RELICS  365 

the  bundle  of  unopened  letters  from  the  top  of  the 
stove  and  placed  them  carefully  in  the  centre  of  the 
stove  fire,  ramming  them  in  with  the  poker  until  he  saw 
the  entire  mass  of  unopened  correspondence  in  a  red 
flame,  undistinguishable  from  the  lighting  coals.  It 
occurred  to  me  at  the  time  that  some  of  those  letters 
might  have  covered  remittances  by  cheque ;  but  the 
members  dared  not  make  any  comment.  Having  done 
so  much,  Mr.  Parnell  paused  for  a  moment,  took  a  sip 
of  his  lemou-squash,  and  then  he  condescended  to  look 
around  and  scrutinise  his  neighbours.  Having  appar- 
ently recognised  them  for  the  first  time  as  members  of 
his  own  party,  he  addressed  one  of  them,  the  late  Mr. 
Peter  M'Donald,  member  for  Sligo,  and  said,  "  Good 
evening,  M'Donald."  Mr.  M'Donald  replied  with  the 
greatest  deference,  "Good  evening,  sir."  Mr.  Parnell  then 
said,  "  Have  you  heard  anything  recently  about  X.  ?  " 
At  that  time  Mr.  X.  was  acutely  ill,  and  doubts  were 
entertained  as  to  his  recovery.  He  was  one  of  Mr. 
Parnell's  ablest  lieutenants,  but  is  not  now  a  member 
of  the  Irish  party.  Mr.  M'Donald  replied,  "  Oh  yes, 
sir ;  the  accounts  I  had  to-night  were  that  he  is  nuich 
better,  and  that  hopes  are  entertained  of  his  recovery." 
Mr.  Parnell  then  inquhed  what  doctor  Mr.  X.  had, 
and  Mr.  M'Donald  informed  him  that  it  was  Dr. 
Kenny,  who  at  that  time  was  a  member  of  Mr. 
Parnell's  own  party,  and  who  after  the  Split,  as  it  is 
called,  was  one  of  his  most  enthusiastic  supporters. 
Dr.  Kenny  was  one  of  those  few  straightforward,  if 
impulsive,  Catholic  Irishmen  who  had  the  courage  to 
express  their  conviction  that  the  priests  were  the  great 
and  abiding  cause  of  Ireland's  distress  and  trouble. 
He  was  for  many  years  physician  at  Maynooth  College, 
and  must  have  known  many  things  worth  telling. 
He  used  to  say  that  he  would  not  have  a  Catholic 


366  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

University,  if  its  control  were  placed  in  the  hands  of 
the  priests.  He  was  universally  respected,  and,  to  its 
credit,  the  Dublin  Corporation  elected  him  to  the 
position  of  City  Coroner,  despite,  or  in  consequence  of 
his  hostility  to  the  priests. 

Mr,  Parnell  then  said,  "  I  think  X,  ouijht  to  have 
the  best  advice  procurable  in  Dublin.  I  would  not  de- 
pend on  one  doctor  entirely.  I  always  make  it  a  rule 
myself,  and  I  think  every  man  should  do  the  same,  if 
I  get  ill  in  a  strange  place,  always  to  find  out  from 
the  general  opinion  of  the  place  who  is  the  best  doctor 
in  that  particular  place ;  and  I  send  for  him.  X. 
ought  to  have  the  best  advice  procurable  in  Dublin," 
Parnell  did  not  mean  to  depreciate  Kenny,  but  to  convey 
that  he  ought  to  have  the  best  assistance  in  consulta- 
tion. Then  Mr,  M'Donald  said,  "  I  am  informed  in  to- 
night's letter,  su*,  that  Father  Charles  from  Mount  Argus 
visited  X,  last  week,  and  brought  the  relics  of  St. 
Paul  of  the  Cross  to  the  house  with  him,  and  I  am  told 
that,  since  the  relics  were  applied,  X.'s  condition  has 
materially  improved." 

This  Father  Charles  was  a  well-known  member  of  the 
Passionist  Order  at  Mount  Argus,  He  Avas  a  Dutch- 
man, who  had  been  resident  in  Ireland  for  over  a  genera- 
tion, and  he  used  to  "  give  out  the  relics,"  as  it  is  styled, 
at  Mount  Argus,  on  a  stated  day  every  week.  Crowds 
of  people  used  to  come  to  touch  those  relics ;  just  as 
people  visit  the  Prophets'  Tombs  in  the  East,  or  make 
pilgrimages  to  Knock  in  the  county  Mayo  ;  and  the 
cures  effected  by  the  "  relics  "  at  Mount  Argus  were  not 
less  marvellous  than  those  claimed  for  the  Prophets' 
Tombs,  or  for  Knock. 

I  carefully  watched  Mr.  Parnell's  countenance  when 
Mr,  M'Donald  informed  him  of  the  bringing  of  the 
relics    to    Mr.    X.       It    betrayed    a    half  -  suppressed 


A  CURED   POLITICIAN  367 

smile ;  then,  as  if  recollecting  himself,  he  looked  with 
intent  seriousness  at  the  tumbler  of  lemon-squash,  and 
he  said  slowly  and  deliberately,  "  I  believe,  yes,  I  believe 
that  if  a  jnan  believes  in  that  kind  of  thing,  then,  when 
he  is  in  a  very  low  condition  of  health,  that  sort  of 
thing  will  very  likely  do  him  good.  It  will  soothe 
his  nerves." 

I  agree  with  Mr.  Parnell,  that  if  a  man  intensely 
believes  in  such  things,  they  may  help  towards  his 
recovery  in  an  illness.  The  gentleman  to  whom 
they  were  applied  in  this  instance  is  now  one  of 
the  most  parasitic  flatterers  of  the  priests'  organisation 
in  Ireland.  There  is  no  sacrifice  which  he  is  not 
ready  to  make  for  them.  Was  he  cured  by  the  relics  ? 
I  can  well  believe  that  their  application  eased  his  mind, 
gratified  his  longing,  and,  therefore,  did  him  good.  It 
has  been  so  in  every  age.  Every  religion  that  was 
ever  heard  of  provides  numberless  instances  of  where 
its  nervous  votaries  have  been  cured  by  means  of  that 
kind.  But  the  whole  body  of  evidence  on  the  point 
only  proves  that  nervous  diseases,  acting  upon  the 
mental  condition  of  the  patient — even  when  a  politician 
— and  being  for  the  most  part  highly  iuiaginary,  are 
operated  upon  in  turn  by  imaginary  cures. 

If  Mr.  Parnell  had  succeeded  in  obtaining  political 
domination  in  Ireland,  under  the  Home  Rule  Bill,  he 
probably  would  have  given  Father  Charles  free  play 
with  his  relics ;  but  he  would  have  kept  him  out  of  the 
school,  and  would  have  excluded  him  from  the  technical 
instruction  committees  and  asylum  boards ;  and  would 
have  taken  away  his  endowments  under  the  Industrial 
Schools  Act,  and  encouraged  lay  schools  to  obtain 
the  endowments  under  the  National  and  Intermediate 
Education  Acts.  The  weak  strand  in  Mr.  Parnell's 
character   was    hatred    of  England,    impatience    with 


368  PKIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

Englishmen — envy  of  Englishmen,  if  you  will.     And 
there  he  found  himself  m  agreement  with  the  priests. 

I  too  received,  and  wore  for  a  while,  a  relic  from  Mount 
Argus.  It  was  a  drop  of  the  blood  of  St.  Paul  of  the 
Cross  enclosed  in  a  heart-shaped  nickel  trinket.  The 
priests  seemed  to  have  an  abundance  of  these  trinkets 
with  drops  of  blood  which  they  gave  away  or  sold.  How 
they  could  all  be  genuine  drops  of  blood  was  and  is  now 
a  mystery  to  me.     But  enough  of  the  Passionists. 

The  position  of  the  Vincentians  at  Phibsborough, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  there  is  no  parish  church  near 
them,  resembles  that  of  secular  priests.  The  locality  is 
not  a  bad  one,  and  they  are  now  engaged  in  com- 
pleting their  church  at  a  large  expenditure.  They 
pride  themselves  upon  their  organ  and  their  choir.  At 
Castleknock  the  Order  conducts  a  remunerative  and  a 
rather  well-kept  Catholic  boarding-school,  to  which  I 
have  the  same  general  objection  that  any  one  who  loves 
his  country  must  feel  to  all  priest-governed  schools. 
Though  I  spent  three  years  at  school  with  the  Vincen- 
tians at  Cork,  I  judge  them  by  their  public  behaviour  and 
utterances,  and  not  at  all  from  personal  experience,  and 
should  be  inclined  to  say  they  are  the  least  objection- 
able of  the  many  different  classes  of  regular  priests  in 
Ireland.  They  have  a  novitiate  at  Blackrock  for  the 
young  Vincentians ;  and  such  is  the  confidence  reposed 
in  them  by  the  bishops  that  they  are  the  official 
confessors  at  Maynooth.  It  is  they  who  manage  All 
Hallows  College  at  Drumcondra,  in  which  priests  are 
educated  for  the  Foreign  Mission;  and  they  also  manage 
the  new  training  college  for  the  Catholic  National 
teachers  at  the  same  place,  bringing  up  the  future 
State-paid  teachers  in  a  spirit  of  undue  subjection  to 
the  priests,  which  is  bad  for  the  teachers,  the  pupils, 
and  the  country. 


NEGLECT  OF  THE  POOR  369 

It  is  easy  to  understand  from  the  foregoing  summary 
why  the  work  done  by  our  secular  and  regular  priests 
neither  alleviates  nor  decreases  the  vast  amount  of 
vice,  poverty,  and  misery  found  coexistent  in  Catholic 
Dublin  with  such  a  large  force  of  clerics.  The  better- 
class  Catholic  laity  have  no  option  but  to  delegate  all 
responsibility  for  the  condition  of  their  poor  brethren 
to  the  priests,  monks,  and  nuns. 

The  laity  are,  to  use  Milton's  expression,  "  church- 
outed  "  by  the  priests.  There  is  no  church  organisation 
in  which  philanthropic  laymen  may  find  a  scope  for 
active  benevolence ;  they  are  only  called  upon  for 
money.  If  a  committee  of  complacent  parishioners 
is  formed  when  a  building  is  in  progress,  its  members 
may  only  ratify  the  decisions  of  the  parish  priest,  and 
have  no  real  authority. 

The  laity  can  never  discuss  such  questions  as  the 
morals,  or  the  conditions  of  life  under  which  the  poor 
majority  exist.  The  well-to-do  Catholics  are  altogether 
estranged  from  the  poor  of  the  parish,  and  take  no 
interest  in  them.  The  priests  avoid  the  poor  as  if  they 
were  infected.  A  priest,  as  a  rule,  does  not  wish  to  be 
seen  in  friendly  conversation  with  his  poor  parishioners  ; 
nor  would  a  poor  parishioner,  when  in  trouble,  dare  to 
accost  his  parish  priest. 

The  members  of  the  Catholic  parish  entirely  lack 
that  cohesion  and  community  of  interest  which  are  so 
characteristic  of  church  organisations  in  the  Reformed 
Churches.  Our  poor,  therefore,  remain  derelict ;  or, 
what  is  even  worse,  they  arc  exploited  in  orphanages, 
industrial  schools,  workhouses,  and  hospitals  for  the 
profit  of  the  priests. 


2  A 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE    CHKISTJAN    BROTHEES    AND    A    STORY 

The  Christian  Brothers  give  a  rehgious  and  general 
education  at  their  eleven  schools  in  the  city  of  Dublin. 
They  are  laymen  who  have  taken  a  vow  of  chastity, 
and  live  in  community ;  and  they  are  saturated  Avith 
Italian  ideas,  unctuousness,  superficial  holiness,  and  all 
that  sort  of  unmanly  behaviour,  which  makes  Roman 
Catholics  in  general  so  unintelligible  to  members  of  any 
of  the  Reformed  Churches.  I  rather  feel  for  the  Christian 
Brothers,  and  find  it  hard  to  say  anything  against  them. 
But  I  should  like  to  see  them  try  the  experiment,  now 
that  they  have  gained  a  reputation  with  the  com- 
munity, of  converting  themselves  into  ordinary  laymen, 
while  maintaining  their  organisation,  and  continuing 
to  conduct  their  schools,  even  on  their  present  liues. 
They  do  not  take  vows  for  life,  and  there  are  a  great 
many  Dublin  laymen,  teachers  in  priests'  schools,  and 
in  other  positions,  married  men  and  fathers  of  families, 
who  were  at  one  time  Christian  Brothers. 

The  Christian  Brothers'  schools  ought  to  be  self- 
supporting,  or  there  should  be  some  business-like 
arrangement  by  which  this  order  of  men  who  do  the 
important  work  of  giving  primary  and  superior  educa- 
tion to  thousands  of  Catholic  children,  whose  parents 
are  prepared  to  pay  for  them,  might  be  saved  from  the 
necessity  of  mendicancy.  In  my  native  town  our  parish 
priest  had  a  difference  with  the  Christian  Brothers  and 
ordered  them  to  leave  the  town.     The  Catholic  popula- 


QUARREL  WITH  A  PRIEST  371 

tion  objected ;  a  large  new  school  and  residence  having 
been  built  for  the  Christian  Brothers,  and  several  acres 
of  ground  enclosed  for  their  use.  The  parish  priest  per- 
sisted, and  introduced  an  incompetent,  elderly  "  classical 
teacher "  into  the  town,  to  whom  he  recommended 
parents  to  send  their  children,  there  being  no  Catholic 
National  school.  The  principal  parishioners  met  to 
consider  the  difficulty,  and  they  guaranteed  an  annuity 
to  the  Brothers  on  condition  that  they  remained  in  the 
town.  The  guarantee  was  accepted ;  the  Brothers  re- 
mained ;  and  no  begging  appeals  were  thenceforth  made 
in  the  parish  on  behalf  of  the  Christian  Brothers.  The 
parish  priest  refused  to  allow  the  parishioners'  com- 
mittee to  make  an  annual  collection  at  the  chapel  gates, 
so  they  used  to  place  their  collecting  tables  on  the  road- 
side at  some  distance  from  the  gates  at  mass  time  on  a 
given  Sunday.  The  schools  continued  to  flomish  ;  and 
the  only  fault,  looking  back  over  a  long  distance  of 
years,  which  I  can  find  with  the  Brothers,  is  that  they 
inculcated  too  much  respect  for  the  priests  into  the 
boys  who  attended  their  schools.  They  literally  heaped 
coals  of  fire  upon  the  head  of  the  parish  priest,  who  is 
now  dead,  and  who  tried  to  do  the  Brothers  all  the 
injury  in  his  power. 

But  the  Christian  Brothers  are  becoming  infected  with 
the  spirit  of  beggary ;  and  they  will,  in  course  of  time, 
I  fear,  become  a  body  of  money-hoarding  mendicants. 

A  doctor  of  philosophy  from  Maynooth,  Father 
Sheehan,  delivering  a  charity  sermon  on  the  Brothers' 
behalf  in  a  Dublin  parish,  is  reported  as  thus  putting 
their  cause  before  the  public : — 

"  The  Christian  Brothers  had,  by  their  chivalrous 
loyalty  to  religion,  a  special  right  to  the  name  they 
bore.  In  their  schools  were  to  be  found  the  crucifix, 
the  images  of  the  saints,  the  statue  of  Our  Blessed 


372  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

Lady,  and  very  often  an  altar,  which  at  certain  times 
of  the  year,  within  the  octaves  of  the  great  Feasts  or 
during  the  month  of  May,  was  adorned  with  flowers 
and  lights.  During  the  day  prayers  were  recited  several 
times,  and  a  suitable  religious  instruction  was  given. 
If  a  pupil  of  the  Christian  Brothers  did  not  leave 
school  with  a  spiritual  constitution  proof  against  the 
microbe  of  irreligion,  no  one  could  blame  them  for  his 
fall."  1 

I  believe  that  it  is  the  excessive  importance  accorded 
to  altars  and  statues  and  the  materialistic  ministrations 
of  priests  which  causes  the  large  desertions  from  Roman 
Catholicity  amongst  the  Irish  in  England  and  America  ? 
When  the  Roman  Catholic  goes  abroad,  and  does  not 
bring  his  statues  and  his  priest  with  him,  he  gives  up 
the  religion  of  the  statues  and  the  priest.  And  how 
worthless  a  religion  must  be,  when  a  man,  face  to  face 
in  a  strange  land  with  new  difficulties  and  fresh  sur- 
roundings, discovers  that  his  creed  is  not  part  of  his 
life,  but  only  an  incumbrance,  which  it  is  his  interest 
to  shake  off.  The  doctor  of  philosophy  is  profuse  in 
his  flattery  for  the  denizens  of  Catholic  Ireland,  who 
are  so  generous  to  his  profession  : — 

"  Irish  people  had  grown  so  accustomed  to  the  bless- 
ing of  faith  that  they  often  failed  to  appreciate  it.  Let 
them  look  to  the  lands  where  faith  was  on  the  wane ; 
they  would  find  society  being  dragged  down  to  the  filth 
of  Roman  paganism,  they  would  find  the  anarchist 
whose  dagger  was  dripping  with  the  blood  of  president 
or  king."" 

A  stranger  would  naturally  be  led  to  mfer  that  we 
had  never  known  the  curse  of  the  assassin's  dagger 
dripping  with  blood  in  Catholic  Ireland.  Would  that 
such  was  our  happy  history ! 

I    find    that    the   Christian   Brothers   are    reported 

'  Freeman's  Journal,  February  24,  1902. 


THE  "HARD   HEAD"  373 

as  being  dealt  with  by  the  Dominican,  Father  Keane, 
in  a  charity  sermon  on  their  behalf  in  another  part  of 
the  city,  as  follows  : — 

"  The  learned  preacher  took  his  text  from  the 
Canticle  of  Canticles,  '  Thou  art  all  fair,  oh  my  love, 
and  there  is  not  a  spot  in  thee.'  In  the  course  of  an 
eloquent  and  powerful  appeal,  he  said  there  were 
thousands  of  millions  of  degrees  distance  between  all 
these  saints  and  the  Queen  of  Saints,  whose  spotless 
sanctity  the  universal  Church  was  honouring  that  day. 
After  years  of  striving,  of  generous  self-denial,  of 
generous  correspondence  with  God's  abundant  graces, 
other  saints  at  the  close  of  life  reached  the  perfect 
acceptability  in  God's  sight  of  having  their  souls 
immaculate.  It  was  there  She  began.  Her  giant 
strides  in  the  course  of  Her  unimaginable  sanctification 
commenced  with  a  perfect  spotlessness."  ^ 

That  seems  a  far-fetched  beginning  for  a  charity 
sermon  in  aid  of  the  Christian  Brothers'  Schools  in 
North  Brunswick  Street,  Dublin.  But  the  Dominicans 
are  famous — if  one  may  use  such  a  word  in  connection 
with  them — for  that  kind  of  introduction.  The  well- 
known  Father  Tom  Burke  is  said  to  have  once  com- 
menced a  sermon  on  behalf  of  the  Jesuits  by  a  most 
original  exordium,  I  have  heard  the  reprehensible 
story  told  a  thousand  times,  always  amongst  ourselves, 
and  sometimes  in  company  with  priests,  but  never 
accompanied  by  a  word  of  disapproval.  It  is  narrated 
that  the  Jesuits  entertained  Father  Burke  at  dinner 
before  the  sermon,  which  was  an  evening  one,  and 
the  company  partook,  not  of  German  beer,  but  of 
vintage  wines,  of  which  the  Jesuits  are  connoisseurs. 
Some  of  the  elder  Jesuits — possessed  of  that  "  hard 
head,"  or  capacity  for  drinking  without  getting  drunk, 
which  one  of  Father  Sheehan's  characters  recommends 

^  EveniTig  Telegraph,  December  9,  1901. 


374  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

Irish  priests  to  acquire  before  they  go  into  society — 
feared  that  Father  Burke  was  not  in  a  fit  condition 
to  enter  the  pulpit.  They  are  said  to  have  remon- 
strated with  him,  and  one  of  their  number  offered 
himself  as  a  substitute  to  preach  the  intended  sermon. 
Father  Burke  is  said  to  have  become  violent  and  in- 
dignant that  any  suspicion  or  doubt  should  be  enter- 
tained as  to  his  "  hardness  of  head,"  and  he  threatened 
to  create  a  scene  if  they  persisted  in  preventing  him 
from  entering  the  pulpit.  This  would  have  been  a 
subject  worthy  of  a  historic  picture ;  the  "  hard- 
headed,"  sly  Jesuits,  in  their  black  soutanes,  re- 
monstrating with  the  big  Dominican  in  his  robes  of 
white  and  black.  Father  Burke  was  a  large  man, 
with  jet-black  hair,  and  a  very  florid  face,  and  the 
Dominican  used  to  preach  in  the  showy  robe  of  his 
order.  The  dispute  in  the  sacristy  ended  in  the 
Jesuits  giving  way  to  Father  Burke.  I  should  be 
inclined  to  say  myself  that  the  Jesuits  would  not 
have  been  particularly  sorry  to  have  seen  this  dis- 
tinguished Dominican  making  a  fool  of  himself  in 
the  pulpit,  if  it  had  been  in  another  church.  Father 
Burke  strode  out  into  the  church  and  ascended  into 
the  pulpit,  and  found  the  building  was  crowded.  The 
"  hard-headed  "  Jesuits  arranged  themselves  in  trepida- 
tion in  all  sorts  of  holes  and  corners  close  to  the  pulpit. 
We  can  well  understand  that  they  were  exceedingly 
nervous  lest  the  dreaded  misbehaviour  of  the  preacher 
should  do  injury  to  their  business. 

Imagine,  then,  their  consternation  when  Father 
Burke,  standing  up  in  the  pulpit  and  pulling  back  his 
sleeves,  bared  his  wrists,  and  commenced  operations  by 
thumping  the  ledge  of  the  pulpit  with  the  clenched  fist 
of  his  right  arm.     And  he  bellowed  forth  in  stentorian 

o 

tones,    as    he   brought   his  hand   down   with   a   thud. 


DOWN  WITH  THE  JESUITS  375 

"  Damn  the  Jesuits  ! "  And  he  struck  the  pulpit  again 
and  cried  out,  "  Damn  the  Jesuits ! "  The  audience 
became  intensely  excited,  and  one  might  have  heard  a 
pin  fall  in  the  church.  It  is  said  that  one  of  the  most 
"  hard-headed  "  Jesuits  had  his  foot  upon  the  first  step 
of  the  pulpit  stairs,  about  to  go  up  and  remonstrate 
with  the  preacher.  And  Burke  again  cried  forth,  in  the 
most  pointed  way,  swinging  himself  right  and  left  in  the 
pulpit,  "  To  hell  with  the  Jesuits  !  "  It  now  seemed  as 
if  Burke  was  going  to  denounce  the  Order  which,  in  so 
many  respects,  was  a  rival  to  his  own,  and  was  going  to 
utilise  the  Jesuits'  own  pulpit  for  the  purpose !  The 
poor  Catholic  lay  congregation  [listened  awestruck, 
waiting  for  the  development  of  these  adjurations.  For 
them,  of  course,  nothing  that  could  emanate  from  the 
pulpit  would  ever  sound  wrong.  And  they  knew 
nothing  about  the  dinner.  Their  faith  assured  them 
that  the  apparent  inexplicability  of  the  situation  Avas 
bound  to  be  satisfactorily  unravelled.  But  the  lurking 
Jesuits  round  the  corners,  looking  through  their  spy- 
holes in  the  passage  doors,  and  who  knew  all  about  the 
consumption  at  dinner,  can  have  had  no  such  comfort- 
ing assurance.  Burke,  however,  relieved  the  tension  by 
proceeding  to  speak  somewhat  in  this  vein :  "  Yes,  my 
dearly  beloved  brethren,  To  He'd  with  the  Jesuits !  that 
is  the  irreligious  cry  which  is  now  ringing  throughout 
Em*ope.  That  is  the  unchristian  cry  which  is  now 
ringing  throughout  atheistical  France.  Damn  those 
holy  men,  the  Jesuits ;  down  with  the  Jesuits ;  yea,  and 
other  more  ribald  and  even  more  impious  curses  than 
those  I  have  mentioned,  on  the  heads  of  the  worthy 
Order  which  is  one  of  the  principal  pillars  of  the 
Church."  And  then  he  proceeded  to  preach  an  elo- 
quent panegyric  of  the  Jesuit  Order,  which  succeeded 
in  its  purpose  of  eliciting  the  required  subscriptions 


376  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

from  the  congregation;  for  Burke  had  a  great  flow  of 
words,  and,  though  a  wag,  was  not  a  fool  as  are  many 
men  and  women  possessed  of  that  gift. 

The  Dominican,  Father  Keane,  with  whom  we  are 
now  concerned,  thus  tortuously  makes  his  exordium 
germane  to  the  body  of  his  discourse : — 

"  Gazing  upon  Her  that  day,  on  Her  beautiful  feast, 
the  Christian  heart  found  some  manner  of  consolation 
in  looking  down  from  the  great  Mother  of  God  to  the 
one  department  of  ordinary  humanity  in  which  they 
might  rejoice  to  find  an  immaculate  condition  of  soul, 
he  meant  the  dear  little  children  over  whose  spirits  and 
whose  lives  the  dark  cloud  of  sin  had  not  yet  come  to 
lower.  Any  child  whom  they  might  see  in  any  of  the 
streets  or  lanes  adjoining  the  church  was  the  child  of 
the  Eternal  God.  From  all  eternity  God's  Imperial 
Mind  conceived  the  design  of  him,  and  it  was  the  power 
divine  of  God's  Right  Hand  that  created  him.  He  was 
the  veritable  child  of  the  all-holy  and  all-perfect  God. 
Before  he  was  three  days  old  he  became  God's  child  in 
a  higher  and  holier  sense.  When  the  baptismal  grace 
shed  its  beauty  on  the  child's  fresh  young  soul  an 
angel  bright  and  fair  immediately  took  his  stand  beside 
that  young  soul  to  be  its  guardian  during  life.  As  the 
child  was  being  conveyed  away  from  the  church  he 
could  imagine  the  Sacred  Heart  of  the  Incarnate  God 
in  the  Tabernacle  sending  a  smile  and  a  message  of 
ethereal  love  down  the  church  after  him.  He  could 
imagine  a  battalion  of  heavenly  spirits  sweeping  down 
from  the  clouds  and  coming  in  at  the  church  door  to 
look  upon  the  new  beauty  which  the  touch  of  God's 
Hand  in  the  Sacramental  Benediction  had  invested  the 
child  with." 

I  scarcely  think  Father  Burke  would  have  spun 
off  such  high-flown  hyperbole  as  that ;  but  the  extract 
gives  a  fair  idea  of  the  staple  oratory  of  the  Dominican 
Order  of  to-day.  Is  that  all  the  Dominicans  can  do  for 
the  deserted,  starved  Catholic  children  of  Dublin  ? 


Poor  Dublin  Homan  Catholic  Ciuldhex 

'The  opening  of  a  new  oratory  in  honour  of  the  divine  child,  Jesus  of  Prague  " 
(p.  337),  will  not  serve  these  poor  children. 


Vuoii  Dublin  Roman  Catholic  Children 

'What  would  Jesus  think  of  the  condition  of  the  poor  Roman  Catholic  children  ot 
Dublin  if  He  were  to  reappear  on  earth  to-day  ?  "  (p.  338). 


A  DOMINICAN  ON   THE   KING  377 

The  roaring  Dominican  next  proceeds  to  thunder 
forth  his  contempt  for  kings,  more  especially  for  Eng- 
lish kings : — 

"  Perhaps  next  year  the  monarch  of  the  realm  would 
visit  the  metropolis.  If  they  bore  him  from  Dublin 
Castle  to  the  Viceregal  Lodge,  and  if  his  way  was  along 
the  northern  quays,  if  there  were  a  poor  hunchbacked, 
starved  child  in  Hammond  Lane  or  Bow  Street,  they 
might  stop  the  monarch's  progress,  ask  hirti  to  get  dovm 
from  his  gilded  chariot,  and,  standing  before  the  bap- 
tized child,  take  off  his  jewelled  crown  and  bend  his 
knee  and  adore  a  greater  than  he  was — the  Everlasting 
Trinity,  God  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  within 
the  breast  of  the  poor  little  child." 

Why  is  the  King  thus  disrespectfully  invited  to  kneel 
down  in  worship  before  the  destitute  Roman  Catholic 
children  of  Dublin  ?  Such  language  is  not  an  incentive 
to  our  poor  to  elevate  themselves  in  the  scale  of  life, 
but  rather  to  continue  in  degradation.  It  is  the  priests, 
not  the  King  of  England,  who  claim,  and  make  money 
by,  the  custody  of  such  children.  One  of  the  first  acts 
of  the  King's  reign  displayed  his  generous  thoughtful- 
ness  for  his  poorest  subjects.  This  Dominican  gospel 
of  dirt-worship  and  starvation-worship  and  deformity- 
worship  is  not  kindness,  but  cruelty  to  the  poor. 
Groping  his  way  to  the  subject  of  his  sermon.  Father 
Keane  is  further  reported  thus : — 

"  If  they  were  to  look  for  a  child  of  to-day  a  thousand 
years  hence  they  should  look  for  him  either  on  one  of 
the  gilded  thrones  of  heaven  or  in  the  dismal  pit  of 
eternal  hell.  Therefore  the  solicitude  of  the  Church, 
which  has  been  charged  by  her  divine  Founder  with 
the  care  of  the  everlasting  welfare  of  souls.  She  drew 
her  flaming  sword  and  defended  the  soul  of  the  child, 
or  she  strove  to  do  it,  against  all  things  that  contained 
the  most  shadowy  possibility  of  imperilling  its  everlast- 
ing interests." 


378  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

Is  Father  Keane's  ranting  the  "flammg  sword"  which 
the  Church  draws  to  protect  the  child  ?  If  so,  it  is  an 
effete  weapon.  Those  who  draw  the  sword  shall  perish 
by  the  sword ;  and  the  children  live  and  die  in  misery 
despite  the  sword  of  the  Dominican  tongue. 

At  length  he  aiTives  at  the  Christian  Brothers,  and 
it  would  be  hard  to  imagine  anything  more  derogatory 
to  the  claim  of  that  body  of  men  upon  public  support, 
as  instructors  of  youth  : — 

"  Chief  amongst  the  agencies  whereby  her  motherly 
zeal  displayed  itself  towards  the  child  was  the  Christian 
school.  He  pleaded  to  them  that  day  for  the  Christian 
Brothers'  Schools  in  North  Brunswick  Street,  where 
nearly  four  hundred  children  daily  received  a  Christian 
education.  Who  could  so  well  impart  to  the  child  a 
thoroughgoing  Christian  education  as  the  man  who,  in 
his  young  life,  consecrated  himself  to  God  by  religious 
vows  and  gave  his  body  and  his  heart  and  his  brain 
and  his  soul  and  all  his  life  to  the  service  of  God  in  the 
teaching  of  the  young  ?  In  that  description  they  re- 
cognised the  devoted  Christian  Brother.  They  were 
schools  where  the  children  could  pray  when  they  liked, 
and  no  officer  of  the  Government  could  come  in  and  say, 
'  How  dare  you  pray  at  this  hour ! '  In  the  Christian 
Brothers'  Schools  they  taught  for  God,  and  through  and 
through  the  school  there  was  the  Christian  spirit.  The 
child's  everlasting  welfare  was  first  of  all,  and  his  train- 
ing was  of  such  a  sort  that  the  grace  which  the  Lord 
shed  upon  his  soul  at  the  baptismal  font  might  remain 
with  him  to  his  dying  hour." 

And  the  preacher,  we  are  told,  closed  his  discourse  by 
referring  "  to  the  expenses  incidental  to  the  carrying  on 
of  the  school  work,  and  he  made  a  powerful  appeal  to 
the  congregation  to  give  generous  aid  to  the  Brothers 
in  the  continuance  of  their  magnificent  educational 
labours." 


THE  ARTANE  SCHOOL  379 

It  is  to  be  hoped  the  day  will  arrive  when  the  Chris- 
tian  Brothers,  or  whatever  body  of  men  may  hereafter 
happen  to  be  in  charge  of  the  better-class  primary 
education  of  Catholic  Dublin,  will  be  saved  from  the 
necessity  of  having  to  engage  the  service  of  such 
advocates. 

The  industrial  school,  which  the  Christian  Brothers 
conduct  at  Artane,  is  one  of  the  great  glories  of  clerical 
Dublin,  The  boys  are  marched  through  the  city  on 
every  possible  pretext,  in  ranks  of  two  deep,  sometimes 
accompanied  by  their  band,  and,  whenever  they  appear, 
they  form  a  most  striking  demonstration.  One  hears 
nothing  but  admiration  expressed  on  all  sides  for  the 
appearance  and  turn-out  of  the  boys.  They  defile 
past  the  astounded  Dubliners  like  soldiers  on  parade. 
It  has  often  occurred  to  me  that  such  an  enormous 
brigade  of  boys  demonstrating  through  the  city,  instead 
of  being  a  subject  for  congratulation,  should  be  a  sub- 
ject for  lamentation  to  the  citizens.  Assuming  that 
they  are  all  boys  who  have  been  genuinely  convicted 
for  vagrancy  and  begging  before  a  magistrate,  should 
we  not  regard  it  as  a  standing  reproach  to  our  city 
that  such  an  army  of  young  vagrants  can  be  main- 
tained in  permanent  strength  from  the  delinquents  of 
its  population.  But,  assuming  that  a  great  part,  or  the 
majority  of  them,  are  boys  who  have  been  spuriously 
convicted  of  vagrancy  and  begging,  is  the  display  not 
even  still  more  lamentable  ?  It  is  bad  enough  to  have 
real  beggars  in  our  midst,  but  it  is  far  worse  to  have 
numbers  of  people  who  can  work,  but  won't ;  parents 
who  can  support  their  children,  but  will  connive  at 
having  them  committed  for  crime  to  such  institutions 
so  that  they  may  be  supported  by  the  State.  One  can 
realise  how  the  labourer,  overburthened  with  a  numer- 
ous family,  must  wish  that  one  or  two  of  his  boys  could 


38o  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

join  the  smart  regiment  of  Artane  as  it  defiles  before 
him  under  its  clerical  oifficers,  and  preceded  by  its 
band  ! 

The  Christian  Brothers  own  a  large  quantity  of 
valuable  land  in  the  district  of  Fair  view,  Clontarf, 
and  Artane,  They  have,  as  we  know,  three  important 
buildings  on  this  land.  The  superior-general's  resi- 
dence, at  one  time  Lord  Charlemont's ;  the  O'Brien 
Institute ;  and  the  Artane  Industrial  School ;  and  they 
are  erecting  an  expensive  novitiate.  They  carry  on 
extensive  farming  operations ;  and  must  be  in  a  posi- 
tion to  utilise  the  labour  of  the  boys  for  the  cultivation 
of  their  land.  That  would  give  them  an  advantage  over 
the  ordinary  county  Dublin  farmers,  with  whom  they 
are  to  be  seen  competing  at  the  Dublin  cattle  market  on 
Thursdays,  the  corn  market  and  the  hay  market.  In 
one  of  his  official  reports  I  find  that  the  inspector  of 
those  industrial  schools  criticises  the  conduct  of  the 
religious  managers  of  those  establishments  in  acquu'ing 
more  land  than  is  necessary  for  the  purposes  of  the 
institutions.  A  reason  for  excessive  acquisition  of  land 
would  be  that  the  soil  can  be  worked  by  the  free  labour 
of  the  boys  in  the  schools,  and  that,  in  consequence, 
money  can  be  earned  by  farming,  in  addition  to  the 
profit  which  is  made  out  of  the  Government  and  muni- 
cipal stipends  allowed  for  each  boy.  But  the  Brothers 
at  Artane  are  not  content  with  the  Government  grant, 
or  the  Corporation  subsidy,  or  the  revenue  from  their 
fertile  lands  in  the  county  Dublin — the  richest  to  be 
found  in  all  Ireland.  They  also  make  a  house-to-house 
canvass  in  the  city  of  Dublin  for  subscriptions.  On 
the  begging  mission,  the  mendicant  Brother  is  usually 
accompanied  by  a  couple  of  plump  orphans,  who  are 
in  as  prime  condition  as  the  fat  cattle  which,  per- 
haps at  the  same  time,  one  of  the  other  Brothers  is 


DERELICTS  AND   ARTISANS  381 

engaged  in  selling  at  the  highest  market  price  on  the 
North  Circular  Road  ! 

All  that  sort  of  procedure  is  bad  public  policy. 
The  lay  Catholic  population  suffer  in  the  competition 
with  the  religious  orders,  but  they  never  make  an 
effective  or  straightforward  protest.  The  following 
represents,  perhaps,  a  typical  cry  from  the  thinking 
Dublin  tradesmen.  It  occurs  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Irish  Industrial  League,  held  at  47  Dame  Street,  on 
the  2 1  st  August  1 90 1 ,  at  which  the  president  of  the 
branch  delivered  a  lecture  in  answer  to  the  question, 
"  Are  industrial  institutions  an  industrial  evil  ?  "  ^  We 
are  told  that 

"  the  lecturer  replied  with  a  strong  affirmative,  and  in 
the  course  of  his  remarks  he  protested  against  the 
manner  in  which  the  boys  of  the  Artane  Industrial 
School  were  enabled  to  compete  with  the  legitimate 
Dublin  trader.  The  Artane  boys,  he  said,  were  paid 
little  or  no  wages,  and  the  goods  were  sold  in  the 
Dublin  shops  much  under  the  ordinary  trade  price, 
to  the  great  detriment  of  legitimate  manufacturers, 
who  had  to  pay  regular  wages.  There  were  ten  labour 
members  in  the  Corporation  who  had  promised  on  their 
election  to  see  that  those  matters  would  be  rectified." 

Those  ten  Catholic  labour  members  dare  not  seriously 
criticise  anything  done  by  a  religious  institution.  In- 
deed one  finds  that  Catholic  labour  members  in  Parlia- 
ment and  in  corporations  seem  to  be  the  least  compe- 
tent to  effect  any  substantial  reform  in  connection  with 
the  interference  of  religion  in  the  secular  affairs  of  life 
in  Ireland.     The  lecturer  went  on  to  say : — 

"  The  Corporation  should  withdraAv  the  5s.  per  week 
per  boy  which  was  now  paid  to  the  Artane  institution, 
unless  a  guarantee  was  given  to   sell  goods   only   at 

^  Preemans  Journal,  August  22,  1901. 


382  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

trade  prices.  He  suggested  that  the  boys  should  be 
apprenticed  to  local  tradesmen,  who  were,  in  many  cases, 
much  in  want  of  apprentices." 

In  1900  the  Dublin  Christian  Brothers  had  882  vag- 
rant boys  under  their  charge  at  Artane  and  Carriglea, 
and  they  received  from  the  State  ;^  16,3 7 2,  i6s.  i  id.  for 
their  maintenance,  or  an  average  of  about  i!^20  per  boy 
per  annum.  It  stands  to  reason  that  if  those  boys  were 
distributed  as  apprentices  to  local  tradesmen,  it  would 
be  much  better  for  the  community,  better  for  the  boys, 
and  better  for  the  tradesmen,  than  to  have  them  herded 
up  in  the  barracks  of  Artane,  working  under  the  direc- 
tion of  a  religious  order. 

The  Christian  Brothers  have  establishments  in  no  less 
than  5  7  Irish  cities  and  towns,  in  which  they  assert  that 
they  teach  28,980  pupils.  They  own  four  industrial 
schools,  receiving  a  total  grant  of  ^22,626  per  annum. 
They  draw  large  capitation  result  fees  under  the  Inter- 
mediate Education  Act.  They  receive  numerous  and 
substantial  legacies,  and  appear  to  be  growing  rapidly 
rich.  We  may  learn  from  the  sermons  of  Dr.  Sheehan 
and  Father  Keane  that  the  strongest  points  in  their 
educational  system  are  the  statues,  altars,  and  prayers 
at  any  hour ;  and  they  produce  a  class  of  adult  Irish- 
man who  remains  a  profitable  and  docile  subject  of  the 
sacerdotal  aristocracy  to  the  end  of  his  life.  Last,  and 
worst  of  all,  they  deprive  the  lay  Catholic  community 
of  a  vast  amount  of  employment  and  emolument. 

Before  entering  upon  a  consideration  of  the  nuns  of 
Dublin,  let  us  travel  through  the  province  of  Leinster 
and  study  the  influence  of  the  priests  upon  the  people. 


CHAPTER  XX 

IN    THE    PROVINCE    OF    LETNSTER 

While  the  population  of  the  country  has  been  steadily 
falling:  the  number  of  Roman  Catholic  clerics  has  been 
just  as  uniformly  increasing.  Let  us  take  seven  of  the 
Leinster  counties,  the  full  particulars  of  which  at  the 
census  of  1 90 1  are  now  before  me.  Carlow  in  1 8  7 1  had 
a  population  of  51,650;  and  its  religious  organisation 
in  that  year  consisted  of  1 2 1  priests,  monks,  and  nuns. 
In  1 88 1  its  population  had  fallen  to  46,568;  but  its 
reUgious  establishment,  consisting  of  priests,  monks, 
nuns,  and  theological  students,  had  risen  to  187,  an 
increase  of  over  50  per  cent.  In  1891  the  number  of 
the  people  had  further  fallen  away  to  40,936  ;  but  the 
strength  of  the  religious  establishment  remained  the 
same — 187.  In  1901  the  people  had  diminished  to 
37,748;  but  the  priests,  monks,  nuns,  and  theological 
students  had  increased  to  327,  or  by  over  75  per  cent. 
While  the  people  have  decreased  by  i  3,902  since  1 87 1, 
the  religious  have  almost  trebled  their  strength  in  the 
county  of  Carlow.  The  county  of  Kildare  had  a 
population  of  83,614  in  1871,  and  its  religious  then 
numbered  599,  including  priests,  monks,  nuns,  and 
theological  students;  in  1 881,  when  the  population  had 
fallen  to  7  5 ,804,  the  religious  had  risen  to  6 1 7 ;  in  1 89 1 , 
when  the  population  had  further  fallen  to  70,206,  the 
number  of  religious  had  increased  to  7  3  2  ;  and  in  1 90 1 , 
when  the  number  of  people  had  shrunk  to  63,566,  the 
number  of  religious  had  risen  to  852.     That  is  to  say, 

383 


384  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

while  the  peoplehave  decreased  from  8  3,6 1 4  to  63,5  66 — 
a  diminution  of  over  20,000  since  1871 — the  strength 
of  the  religious  organisation  has  increased  from  599  to 
852.  In  the  King's  County  in  1 871,  when  there  were 
75,900  people,  the  priests,  monks,  nuns,  and  theological 
students  numbered  154;  in  1881  the  people  were  down 
to  72,852,  but  the  priests  were  up  to  201  ;  1891,  the 
people  were  further  down  to  65,563,  while  the  priests 
were  up  to  230;  and  in  1 90 1  the  people  are  only  60, 187, 
but  the  priests  are  257.  That  is  to  say,  while  the  popu- 
lation has  fallen  from  75,900  to  60,187 — a  decrease  of 
I  5.7 1 5 — the  priests'  strength  has  risen  from  i  54  to  2  5  7. 
In  Longford  in  1 87 1  there  were  only  48  priests  and  nuns, 
when  there  were  64,501  people;  in  1 88  i,when there  were 
only  61,009  people,  there  were  88  priests  and  nuns;  in 
1 89 1  the  people  had  further  decreased  to  52,647,  but 
the  priests  had  gone  up  to  114;  and  in  1 90 1,  when  the 
people  have  fallen  to  46,672,  the  priest  has  risen  to  127, 
or  nearly  treble  what  his  strength  was  in  1 8  7 1 ,  when 
there  were  17,829  more  people  in  the  county  than  there 
are  at  present.  The  case  in  Louth  stands  thus :  year 
1 87 1,  people  84,021,  clerics  171;  year  1881,  people 
77,684,  clerics  233  ;  year  1891,  people  71,038,  clerics 
250;  year  1 901,  people  65,820,  clerics  273.  In  the 
county  Meath  in  1 8  7 1 ,  when  the  population  was  95,558, 
the  priests,  monks,  and  nuns  were  131;  in  1 88 1,  when 
the  population  had  fallen  to  87,469,  the  religious  had 
risen  to  154;  in  1891  the  population  sank  to  76,987, 
but  the  religious  went  up  to  168  ;  and  in  1901,  with  the 
population  further  down  to  67,497,  the  religious  stand 
at  193.  In  the  county  Westmeath  there  were  116 
priests,  monks,  and  nuns  in  1 8  7 1  when  the  county  had 
a  population  of  78,432;  in  1881,  with  a  diminished 
population  of  7 1,798,  the  county  had  the  same  number 
of  religious ;  in  1 89 1,  when  the  population  had  sunk  to 


A  DISTRACTED  PEOPLE  385 

65,109,  the  religious  had  gone  up  to  151;  and  in  1901, 
when  the  population  is  only  61,629,  t^®  religious  num- 
ber is  192.  So  it  is  all  over  the  country,  and  with  all 
classes  of  institutions  with  which  the  priest  has  to 
do.  Orphanages,  asylums,  workhouses,  ecclesiastical 
colleges,  monasteries,  and  convents  have  an  increasing 
population,  while  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  are 
diminishing  with  fatal  rapidity.  Mr  R.  B.  Balfour,  one 
of  the  governors  of  the  Dublin  Lunatic  Asylum,  at  a 
meeting  of  magistrates  recently  held  in  Dublin,  said 
"  that  morning  he  heard  from  the  medical  superinten- 
dent that  there  were  2380  patients  in  the  institution. 
A  few  years  ago  the  number  was  about  i  500,  and  since 
then  there  had  been  an  increase  of  from  100  to  150 
each  year."  ^  The  safest  policy  is  to  assign  this 
growth  of  lunacy  and  all  other  crime  to  drink ;  but, 
I  ask,  what  about  religious  insanity  ?  Was  it  not 
responsible  for  the  burning  of  Bridget  Cleary,  the 
murder  of  James  Cunningham,  and  the  Cappawhite 
infanticide  ?  2  Must  there  not  bo  increasing  worry  and 
anxiety  of  mind  for  the  remnant  of  the  poor  lay  Catholic 
population  outside  the  institutions  who  have  to  support 
the  expanding  sacerdotal  organisation  ? 

The  excessive  terror  of  hell  and  purgatory  operating 
upon  the  minds  of  the  laity,  which  is  proved  up  to  the 
hilt  by  their  disposal  of  their  savings  on  their  death- 
beds, must  produce  its  effect  in  drunkermess  and 
lunacy. 

The  county  Longford  is  a  backward  Catholic  county 
situated  in  the  middle  of  Ireland,  on  the  upper  reaches 
of  the  Shannon,  and  its  people  have  little  opportu- 
nity of  enlightenment  from  without.  They  are  in  the 
hands  of  the  priests,  through  whom,  or  through  whose 
newspapers,  each  detail  of  information  about  the  outside 

*  Freeman,  Mar  i6,  1902.  ^  "Five  Years  in  Ireland." 

2  B 


386  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

world  must  filter  before  it  reaches  them.  The  result  is 
that  the  energetic  young  people  of  Longford  emigrate 
whenever  they  get  the  opportunity.  In  1 8  8 1  the 
population  was  61,009,  ^^^  i^  1901  it  had  fallen  to 
/i^6,6y'^,  a  decrease  of  over  25  per  cent,  in  twenty  years. 
The  area  of  Longford  is  256,458  statute  acres,  in  addi- 
tion to  which  there  are  12,950  acres  under  water;  the 
county  being  full  of  small  lakes  and  rivers.  The  acreage 
under  crops  is  62,965.  The  pasture  amounts  to  142,760 
acres;  woods  account  for  3549  acres;  turf,  bog,  and 
marsh  account  for  35,000  acres.  There  are  no  moun- 
tains in  Goldsmith's  county,  and  for  that  reason  it  is 
uninteresting  to  travellers,  being  a  flat  land  dotted  with 
unremarkable  lakes,  intersected  by  streams,  and  cold  and 
damp  in  the  winter.  The  same  description  applies  to  its 
neighbour,  Leitrim,  in  which  flourishes  the  Drumshambo 
Convent  of  Perpetual  Adoration,  containing  39  nuns,  en- 
gaged in  "  intercessory  prayer  for  the  conversion  of  Jews, 
infidels,  heretics  and  sinners,  day  and  night,"  amongst 
other  numerous  curiosities  of  religion.  How  diff'erent 
would  have  been  the  fate  of  those  counties  if  the  Pro- 
testant settlement  had  been  planted  on  the  banks  of 
the  Shannon,  instead  of  on  the  banks  of  the  Foyle, 
Bann,  and  Lagan.  Then,  in  all  probability,  that  noble 
Irish  river,  which  now  runs  its  course  idly  and  unpro- 
fitably  to  the  sea,  would  be  busy  with  commerce  and 
industry.  Its  great  water-power  would  be  utilised 
instead  of  being  useless,  as  it  is  at  present,  and  the 
Catholic  city  of  Limerick,  far  from  being  a  topic  of 
ridicule  for  the  community,  would  command  a  great 
transatlantic  trade,  instead  of  sulkily  treasuring  a 
"  violated  treaty  "  and  maintaining  a  Bishop  O'Dwyer. 

Bishop  Hoare  is  the  spiritual  monarch  of  this  Long- 
ford region,  which  is  in  the  diocese  of  Ardagh.  He 
and  his   predecessor   have   succeeded    in    building   an 


THE   PRIEST   IN   LONGFORD  387 

expensive  cathedral  in  Longford  town,  which  is  known 
as  St.  Mel's.  The  strength  of  his  clerical  army  in  this 
backward  county  consists  of  47  priests,  i  (?)  theological 
student,  68  male  teachers,  79  nuns,  and  68  female 
teachers.^  To  this  we  may  add  the  36  resident  pupils 
at  the  Ecclesiastical  School,  known  as  Mel's  College, 
Longford,  most,  if  not  all,  of  whom  are  destined  for  the 
Church ;  and,  as  camp  followers,  the  1 1 4  girls  at  the 
Newtownforbes  Industrial  School,  under  the  Sisters  of 
Mercy — total,  413. 

The  imperial  and  local  Government  establishments, 
including  civil  service  officers  and  clerks,  male  and 
female,  48  ;  police  force,  130  ;  municipal,  parish,  union, 
district,  and  other  local  and  county  officials,  46 — show 
a  total  of  224.  Thus  the  effective  force  at  the  command 
of  Bishop  Hoare,  and  without  reckoning  the  industrial 
school  girls,  is  greater  by  one-third  than  the  force 
at  the  disposal  of  the  imperial  and  local  Governments 
combined ;  and,  as  in  all  the  other  counties  in  Ireland, 
those  forces  at  Bishop  Hoare's  command  draw  a  great 
deal  of  taxpayers'  and  Government  money  in  various 
shapes  and  forms. 

The  strength  of  the  military  army  in  the  county, 
including  retired  officers,  militia,  pensioners  of  all  ranks, 
non-commissioned  officers  and  men,  amounts  to  228, 
being  again  only  three-fourths  of  Bishop  Hoare's  army, 
without  the  industrial  girls,  while  for  efficiency  and 
power  there  is  no  comparison  whatever  between  the 
intluence  of  the  bishop's  army  and  the  king's  army  in 
the  county. 

There  are  6  members  of  the  legal  profession  in 
Longford,  13  members  of  the  medical  profession,  and 
5  engineers  and  surveyors — total,  24 ;  or  only  one- 
thirteenth  of  the  clerical  establishment.     There  is  no 

*  "Census  of  Ireland,"  1901,  Part  I.  vol.  i.  No.  6. 


388  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

industry  in  the  county  worthy  the  name ;  and  a  more 
helpless  community  it  would  be  hard,  indeed,  to  find  in 
a  district  inhabited  by  pure  white  men.  While  there 
are  79  nuns  in  the  county,  there  are  only  2  midwives 
to  attend  to  the  6396  married  women  in  the  community. 

The  religious  denominations  in  the  county  Longford 
stand  thus:  Catholics,  42,742;  Episcopalians,  3408; 
Presbyterians,  256;  Methodists,  202;  all  others,  68. 
Thus  we  find  that  the  Catholics  number  over  nine- 
tenths  of  the  population,  and  it  may  be  truly  said  that 
their  lives,  physical  and  mental,  secular  and  religious, 
are  entirely  under  the  influence  of  Bishop  Hoare  and 
his  priests. 

Here  is  the  will  of  a  county  Longford  farmer,  which 
speaks  for  itself: — 

James  Maxwell,  late  of  Forgney  (Moyvore),  in  the 
county  of  Longford,  farmer,  deceased,  who  died  on  the 
4th  of  November  1901,  by  his  will  dated  the  29th  day 
of  October  1901  bequeathed  to  the  Rev.  Patrick  Curry, 
for  the  purpose  of  having  masses  said  in  Roman 
Catholic  chapels  open  for  public  worship  in  Ireland,  for 
his  (testator's)  soul  and  for  the  souls  of  his  (testator's) 
parents — 

(a)  The  balance  after  payment  of  all  rent,  taxes, 
Crown  duties,  and  necessary  disbursements  of — 

1.  The  profits  of  his  (testator's)  two  farms  at 
Forgney,  county  Longford,  one  containing  50a., 
I.P.M.,  and  the  other  26a.,  I.P.M.,  derived  from 
the  setting  of  same  for  grazing  on  the  eleven 
months'  system,  until  second  term  Judicial  rents 
should  be  fixed  on  both  of  them,  the  former  from 
the  date  of  testator's  death,  viz.  the  4th  day  of 
November,  1901,  and  the  latter  from  April,  1902, 
and  also, 

2.  Of  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  by  Public  Auction  of 
said  two  farms  when  such  second  term  rents  should 
be  fixed. 

(6)  The  balance,  after  payment  of  all  his  (testator's) 


FARMS  SOLD  FOR   MASSES  389 

funeral  and   testamentary  expenses  and  expenses 
incidental  to  the  administration  of  his  estate,  and 
of  his  debts  (if  any)  other  than  rents,  of  the  pro- 
ceeds of  24  National  Bank  Shares. 
Dated  this  8th  day  of  February  1902.^ 

The  industrial  school  at  Newtownforbes  is  con- 
ducted by  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  and  at  it  there  are  1 1 3 
"  vagrant "  girls  maintained  out  of  the  rates  at  the  cost 
of  ;6^2788,  6s.  I  ikl.  per  annum,  being  equal  to  a  pension 
of  ;^2  3,  I  8s.  4d.  per  girl,  which  is  rather  higher  than  a 
well-to-do  county  Longford  farmer  would  be  willing  to 
pay  for  the  education  of  his  daughter. 

The  Convent  of  Mercy,  in  the  town  of  Longford,  has 
charge  of  the  Workhouse  Hospital ;  and  we  may 
expect  to  find  a  request  presented  to  the  Local 
Government  Board  to  convert  that  institution  into  a 
"  District  "  Hospital,  for  the  reception  of  paying  patients. 
The  Sisters  of  Mercy  in  their  principal  convent  in 
Longford  allege  that  they  have  a  "  shirt,  lace  and 
hosiery  factory,  where  a  number  of  poor  girls  are 
profitably  employed." "  I  can  well  believe  that  they 
are  "  profitably  "  employed — but  not  for  the  girls  them- 
selves. And  the  nuns  consider  themselves  labouring 
under  a  sore  grievance,  inasmuch  as  "  the  convent  has 
no  Government  or  other  endowment."  That  is  an 
unusual  state  of  things  for  an  Irish  convent  nowa- 
days ;   but  they  should  approach  the  Jesuits. 

There  can  be  no  greater  slur  cast  upon  the  energy  of 
our  population  than  this  general  taking  up  of  amateur 
secular  industries  by  our  religious  institutions.  Whether 
it  be  the  Cistercians,  with  their  flour-milling  and  farm- 
ing at  Roscrea;  or  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  with  their 
hosiery  at  Longford ;  or  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  with 
their   woollens   at   Foxford — all   are   evidence   of   the 

1  Freeman,  May  i6,  1902.  ^  Jrish  Catlwlic  Directorrj,  1902. 


390  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

incapacity  of  the  lay  body  politic  in  Catholic  Ireland. 
We,  lay  Catholics,  will  subscribe  money,  either  by 
voluntary  subscription  or  through  the  taxes,  for 
religious  bodies,  and  we  assent  to  Government  giving 
them  grants,  but  we  have  not  the  grit  to  take  up  the 
development  of  our  manufactures  and  industries  our- 
selves. It  is  true  that  we  are  incapacitated  by  the 
teaching  of  the  priests ;  and  that  we  labour  under  this 
disadvantage  as  compared  with  the  religious  communi- 
ties, namely,  that  lay  folk  could  not  carry  on  industries 
and  practise  mendicancy  and  receive  Government  en- 
dowments all  at  the  same  time.  But  the  fact  remains 
that  the  Irish  Catholic  in  his  own  soil  is  a  puzzled 
slave,  gaping  with  mouth  open  wide  at  the  rehgious 
communities,  male  and  female,  who  have  hypnotised 
him,  and  who  have  taken  possession  of  the  land. 

The  number  of  the  Catholic  male  youth  of  the  county 
Longford  receiving  a  "  superior  "  education  amounts  to 
95,  and  of  these  36  are  resident  at  the  Ecclesiastical 
School  of  St.  Mel's,  leaving  only  59  of  the  general 
Catholic  youth  of  the  county  receiving  a  "  superior  " 
education.  The  number  of  females  receiving  a 
"  superior  "  education  in  the  county  is  returned  at  4, 
while  there  are  79  nuns  within  its  boundaries.  What 
a  low  standard  of  education  this  shows !  But  if  the 
numbers  of  children  at  "  superior "  schools  were  ten 
times  as  great,  it  Avould  not  benefit  the  people ;  for 
education  under  priests'  control  does  not  mean  mental 
improvement. 

Let  us  now  spend  a  short  time  in  King's  County.  And 
let  me  begin  with  the  following  brief  sketch  written 
while  ray  impressions  were  fresh.  In  the  centre  of 
Ireland,  on  the  banks  of  the  rushing  Brusna,  a  tribu- 
tary of  the  Shannon,  and  in  King's  County,  is  the 
village  of  Clara.     It  consists  of  half-a-dozen  shops,  and 


IN   CLARA  391 

a  prosaic  but  comfortable  street  of  labourers'  cottages. 
The  visitor  approaching  it  by  rail  sees  no  spire  or  other 
indication  of  that  militant  religion  which  so  obtrudes 
itself  upon  the  spectator  all  over  Ireland,  Comfort, 
quietness,  solidity,  industry,  are  the  characteristics  of 
the  place.  No  scenery,  nothing  whatever  remarkable 
about  it  for  one  to  go  and  sec.  If  you  walk  up  to  one 
end  of  the  town  you  come  to  some  large  flour-mills. 
You  are  struck  by  the  perfect  repair  in  which  the  build- 
ings are,  no  less  than  by  their  size,  and  you  hear  the 
steady  rumble  of  the  machinery  within.  How  can 
these  mills  pay  down  here  ?  Has  not  American  flour 
killed  the  millers  of  Ireland  ?  Have  you  not  seen  the 
ruins  of  flour-mills  all  over  the  country  ?  You  walk  on 
along  the  pleasant  country  road.  What  house  is  that  ? 
So  comfortable,  so  homelike,  so  neatly  kept,  flourishing 
like  a  rose  beside  the  mill  ?  Who  lives  there  ?  The 
passing  peasant  answers  "  Mr.  Goodbody."  You  walk 
on  into  the  country.  Another  pretty  house  that  looks 
a  veritable  home,  where  generations  of  boys  and  girls 
may  have  been  reared !  Who  lives  there  ?  Whose 
house  is  that  ?  The  chance  passer-by  answers  "  Mr. 
Goodbody."  Yet  another  creeper-covered,  bow-win- 
dowed, homelike  house  !  Who  lives  there  ?  The  answer 
is  "  Mr.  Goodbody."  They  are  not  squires'  houses  with 
lodges,  avenues,  and  plantations.  They  are  close  to  the 
road,  smiling  out  upon  you,  right  in  the  midst  of  the 
people,  open  to  the  light  of  day.  Back  through  the 
little  town  again,  and  out  on  the  other  side.  What 
factory  is  that  ?  What  is  that  big  place  doing  down 
here  ?  What  villasre  of  workmen's  houses  is  that  ?  I 
thought  there  was  no  trade  in  this  part  of  Ireland. 
Here,  boy,  what  place  is  this  ?  "  Goodbody's,  sir." 
What  do  they  make  here,  then  ?  "  Jute  goods,  sir." 
What  villa'jfe  is  that  ?     "  Those  are  the  houses  of  the 


392  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

factory  hands,  sir."  How  many  hands  ?  "  Over  six 
hundred,  sir."  Making  all  sorts  of  jute  goods  down 
here  !  How  is  that  ?  What  religion  do  the  factory 
hands  belong  to  ?  "  All  Catholics,  sir."  Is  Mr.  Good- 
body  a  Cathohc  ?  "  No,  sir."  What  is  he  ?  "  He's  a 
Quaker,  sir."  Are  all  the  Goodbodys  Quakers  ?  "  They 
are,  sir."  How  many  of  them  are  there  ?  "A  whole 
lot,  sir."     Long  here  ?     "  Always,  sh." 

A  hard  nut  to  crack.  How  can  we  solve  it  ?  Ever  hear 
of  any  Goodbodys  in  Parliament  ?  Can't  remember. 
How  did  they  manage  it  ?  Honesty  and  attention  to 
business.  Rubbish  !  Can  those  virtues  bear  fruit  in 
Ireland  ?  Does  not  the  brutal  English  Government 
crush  and  nullify  all  the  efforts  of  honesty  and  atten- 
tion to  business  ?     Can't  make  it  out ! 

Back  into  the  town.  Whose  trap  is  that  ?  "  Mr. 
Goodbody's,  sir."  Who  are  those  people  in  it  ?  "  The 
Goodbodys,  sir."  Who  is  that  man  on  the  bicycle 
flying  along  the  side-walk  of  the  main  street  ?  "  Mr. 
Goodbody."  Who  is  that  on  the  outside  car  ?  "  Mr. 
Goodbody,  sir."  Who  made  this  town  ?  "  Mr.  Good- 
body  made  the  most  of  it."  What  would  you  do  with- 
out him  ?  "  We'd  do  badly,  sir."  Have  the  Goodbodys 
any  church  ?  "  No,  sir."  What  is  that  new  building  up 
the  byway  on  the  rise  ?  "  The  new  chapel,  sir."  Who 
put  that  up  ?  "  The  parish  priest,  sir ;  it  isn't  finished 
yet."     Who  pays  for  it  ?     "  We  all  do,  sir." 

This  new  and  costly  chapel,  with  its  stained  glass  and 
mosaic,  is  the  barren  contribution  of  religion  to  the 
prosperity  of  Clara ;  while  these  mills  and  factories  upon 
which  Clara  lives  are  the  work  of  Quaker  brains. 

I  went  into  the  hotel  for  a  chop,  and  found  a  young 
priest,  just  out  of  Maynooth,  after  ordination,  and  with 
him  a  lay  friend,  taking,  amongst  other  refreshments, 
biscuits,   tea,  chop,   potatoes,  stout,  whisky  cold   and 


A  YOUNG   PRIEST  393 

whisky  hot — smoking  cigars  and  snuffing.  What  an 
appetite — particularly  the  young  priest !  He  is  quali- 
fying for  the  position  of  "  a  fatling  of  the  flock,"  as 
Bishop  Gaffney  would  say.     Must  talk  to  him. 

"  Just  ordained  ? "  I  venture. 

"  Yes,"  he  replied,  with  a  smile. 

"  What  diocese  ? " 

" ,"  which  I  had  better  not  disclose. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  the  National  Synod  recently 
held  at  Maynooth  ?  "  I  ask  seriously. 

"  I  think  we  had  mortal  sins  enough  already  without 
their  making  any  more  for  us,"  he  replies  with  levity. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  Cardinal  Logue?"  inquiringly. 

"  Oh,  he's  not  a  bad  sort  of  a  man ;  he's  a  great  man 
for  taking  snuff;  a  very  independent  man  ;  when  he  was 
dining  with  her  Majesty  at  the  Viceregal  Lodge,  and 
the  whole  time  he  Avas  in  her  company,  he  never  stopped 
taking  his  pinch  of  snuff."  He  meant  to  take  me  aback 
by  this  evidently. 

"  H'm  !  That  wasn't  good  form.  SnufKng  is  a  dirty 
habit,  and  I  think  he  might  have  stopped,"  I  said,  and 
his  face  betrayed  his  confusion  at  my  remark. 

"Ah,  just  so.  I  only  heard  the  remark  passed  that  he 
wouldn't  be  put  down  by  the  queen  or  anybody  else. 
But  you're  right  enough  ;  it  wasn't  good  manners, 
maybe,"  he  said  demurely. 

"  The  Quakers  have  no  cardinals,  nor  archbishops,  nor 
bishops,  nor  even  priests,  yet  they  are  remarkably  good 
people  ? "  I  said  seriously  and  tentatively. 

"  Ah,  yes,  just  so  ! "  and  he  opens  his  breviary  and 
begins  reading  his  Latin  office,  just  as  his  lay  friend 
returns  to  the  room. 

No  sermon,  no  lecture,  no  speech,  no  treatise  upon  the 
cause  of  Catholic  Ireland's  misery  could  have  so  burned 
into  my  mind,  as  what  I  saw  and  heard  in  those  few  hours 


394  PRIESTS   AND  PEOPLE 

on  that  autumn  day  in  Clara.  The  young  priest  was 
reading  his  Latin.  "  No  man,"  thought  I,  "  being  a 
soldier  of  God,  entangleth  himself  tuith  secular  hcsi- 
ness."  And  I  started  for  a  drive.  Such  multitudes  of 
berries  and  wild  apples  I  never  saw  on  a  roadside. 
While  wondering  at  the  elderberries,  the  haws,  the 
blackberries,  and  wild  apples,  far  out  in  the  country,  on 
the  Kilbeggan  road,  I  came  upon  a  well-built  house  of 
cut  limestone,  surmounted  by  a  cross.  I  ask  the 
driver  what  it  is.  He  says  it  is  "  The  Monastery,"  and 
tells  me  that  it  is  inhabited  by  a  community  of  Fran- 
ciscan monks,  Avho,  as  I  gather,  are  not  priests;  that 
they  keep  a  school  from  which  they  derive  some  revenue, 
but  that  their  main  income  comes  from  land. 

Across  the  road  facing  the  school  I  saw  an  enormous 
rick  of  oats,  the  biggest  I  had  seen  on  my  way  from 
Dublin.  The  labourers  were  building  it  up,  and  I  saw 
a  monk  superintending.  I  noticed  also  a  fine  herd  of 
cattle,  which  I  was  informed  were  the  property  of  the 
community.  It  was  a  healthy-looking  place,  this  monas- 
tery— or  monstrosity,  as  one  could  not  help  thinking 
it — open  to  view,  as  if  the  example  of  the  Friends  had 
infected  even  the  Franciscans :  no  dark  corners,  no  high 
walls,  no  room  apparently  for  mystery.  But,  despite  the 
abundance  of  the  monkish  corn  and  the  fatness  of  the 
monastic  cattle,  I  am  quite  sure  the  struggling,  indi- 
vidual Catholic  farmers  around  contribute  much  from 
their  own  hardly-earned  competences  to  the  enrichment 
of  that  monastery  of  holy  farmers — "  Soldiers  of  God," 
no  doubt,  in  their  own  esteem,  herded  together  for  self- 
preservation,  both  in  this  world  and  the  next. 

When  crops  fail,  these  monks  can  beg  all  over  the 
country.  The  married  farmer  with  a  large  young 
family  cannot  fall  back  upon  that  resource. 

I  have  read  of  a  poor  Queen's  County  farmer  sentenced 


I 


LAY  AND   CLERICAL  BEGGARS         395 

to  a  month's  imprisonment  for  begging  in  Kingstown ; 
but  monks,  nuns,  and  priests  can  beg  from  shop  to  shop 
and  door  to  door  with  unblushing  effrontery,  and  the 
police  authorities  dare  not  say  a  word  against  it.  A 
shilling  given  to  the  poor  farmer,  reprehensible  as  his 
conduct  was,  would  be  better  spent  than  a  shilling  given 
to  sesthetically-arrayed  professional  beggars  from  a  fat 
con)munity  of  priests,  monks,  or  nuns,  who  have  their 
lands  and  their  cut-stone  houses,  their  pastures,  their 
corn  and  their  cattle,  their  gardens,  and  their  big  bank 
acct»unts.  The  poor  layman  begged  on  the  small  scale, 
and  was  sent  to  jail ;  those  others  beg  on  the  grand  scale 
and  in  a  masterly  way,  and  are  rewarded  with  endow- 
ments from  the  Government.  In  Ireland  the  priest 
and  the  nun  may  truly  say  to  the  layman  and  lay- 
woman  :  "  /  am  rich  and  increased'  ivith  goods,  and  have 
need  of  nothing  ;  and  hioivcst  not  that  thou  art  ivr etched, 
and  miserable,  and  poor,  and  blind,  and  naked."  Con- 
trast the  riches  of  the  Friend  with  the  riches  of  the 
priest  or  monk.  If  the  Friends  are  rich,  have  they 
not  enriched  and  made  comfortable  hundreds  of  their 
fellow- creatures  in  accumulating  their  riches  ?  If 
the  monks  of  Ireland  are  rich,  whom  did  they  enrich 
by  their  money-grubbing  ?  Whom,  rather,  that  they 
received  money  from,  either  at  christening,  wedding- 
day,  or  deathbed,  did  they  not  impoverish — yea,  and 
impoverish  their  heirs  and  relatives  as  well  ? 

But  of  this  begging  by  monkish  communities  for  secu- 
lar purposes,  let  me  give  a  modern  instance,  for  which  I 
shall  ask  you  to  cross  the  border  into  North  Tipperary. 

At  Roscrea,  in  county  Tipperary,  there  is  also  a  monas- 
tery on  a  much  grander  scale  than  the  little  one  at  Clara. 
It  belongs  to  the  Cistercians,  and  has  a  lord  abbot  and  all 
the  attendant  grandeur  which  surrounds  such  a  person- 
asje.     These  Cistercian  monks  took  over  a  derelict  flour 


396  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

mill  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  began  to  work  it  for 
profit.  That  it  should  be  left  to  a  community  of  monks 
to  do  this,  demonstrates  the  helplessness  of  the  priest- 
educated,  Irish  Catholic  laymen.  The  Cistercians  claimed 
credit  in  all  the  Catholic  papers  for  "  reviving  the 
milling  industry,"  and  thoughtless  scribes  were  found 
in  plenty  to  boom  the  energy  of  the  monk  and  inferen- 
tially  to  expose  the  pitiable  helplessness  of  the  laymen. 
Well,  whether  from  penuriousness  (which  is  likely)  or 
from  an  overweening  confidence  in  the  special  protec- 
tion of  Divine  Providence,  I  know  not,  those  ghostly 
millers  did  not  insure  their  mill  against  fire — so  secure 
were  they  against  fire,  as  they  thought,  both  in  this 
world  and  the  next.  But  the  mill,  notwithstanding, 
was  burned  to  the  ground !  If  such  a  calamity  hap- 
pened to  a  layman,  he  would  have  to  bear  it  as  best 
he  could.  But  this  body  of  monks,  to  whom  it  really 
was  no  material  loss,  for  their  home  and  way  of  living 
were  still  secure,  at  once  issued  a  begging  appeal  to  the 
country.  They  called  upon  everyone  who  had  ever  "made 
a  retreat "  in  their  monastery  to  come  to  their  aid  with 
money  to  enable  them  to  rebuild  their  mill  and  pur- 
chase new  plant.  Leading  articles  were  written  in  all 
the  papers,  spurring  up  "  holy  Ireland  "  to  come  to  the 
rescue  of  these  priestly  "  nation  builders,"  who  had  so 
heroically  "  revived  the  dying  milling  industry  of  Ire- 
land." The  cause  of  Irish  industry  was  at  stake  !  Public 
meetings  were  held  in  Dublin;  the  Cistercians  went 
on  the  warpath,  begging,  canvassing,  whipping  up,  in 
every  corner  of  the  city.  Subscription  lists  were  pub- 
lished, and  the  pecuniary  help,  which  would  be  denied 
to  the  most  deserving  layman  that  was  ever  crushed  by 
an  unmerited  calamity,  was  liberally  bestowed  upon  this 
community  of  bachelors,  out  of  the  pockets  of  married 
men,  many  of  whom  are  unable  to  support  their  own 


MONKISH   MILLERS  397 

wives  and  families  in  a  fit  and  proper  manner.     The 
triumph  of  the  mendicants  is  thus  described  : — 

"  The  proceeds  of  the  fund  which  was  started  a  few 
months  ago  in  the  city  to  assist  the  Mount  St.  Joseph's 
monks  to  rebuild  their  mills,  which  were  unfortunately 
destroyed  by  lire  early  in  January,  have  been  handed 
over  to  the  abbot." 

And  the  committee  of  lay  folk  who  lent  themselves 
to  the  audacious  beggary  did  not  go  without  a  reward 
and  due  iclat. 

"  Several  members  of  the  committee  and  other  well- 
wishers  and  subscribers,  including  some  lady  friends, 
having  expressed  a  wish  to  be  present  on  the  occasion, 
as  well  as  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  a  day  amidst  the 
beauties  of  this  charming  retreat,  a  party  of  twenty- 
four  was  formed  and  a  recent  Sunday  excursion  to 
Roscrea  was  availed  of.  A  saloon  car — one  of  those 
modern,  spacious,  bright  and  comfortable  railway 
coaches  that  make  travelling  nowadays  a  luxury — 
was  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  committee  and 
their  friends." 

The  beauties  of  that  charming  retreat,  the  luxurious 
saloon  car  and  all  that  Sabbath  morning's  work  which 
is  unrecorded,  might  well  make  the  members  of  the 
committee  ashamed  of  themselves,  and  I  am  glad  to 
see  they  had  enough  of  saving  grace  to  suppress  the 
publication  of  their  names. 

"  The  morning  was  bright  and  sunny  as  the  train 
steamed  away  from  the  Kingsbridge.  Our  hearts 
grew  light  and  spirits  bright,  so  that  every  face  looked 
pleased  and  happy.  Two  hours'  quick  running  brought 
the  party  to  Roscrea  station.  Here  cars  met  them,  and 
after  a  spanking  drive  of  twenty  minutes,  they  reached 
the  front  entrance  to  the  monastery  grounds.  The 
abbey  can  be  approached  by  two  roads,  either  of  which 


398  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

indicates — for  the  interesting  country  is  simply  grand 
as  you  pass  through— the  surprising  charms  of  Mount 
St,  Joseph." 

Hearts  hght !  Spirits  bright !  Faces  pleased  and 
happy  !  On  their  way  to  enjoy  "  the  surprising  charms 
of  Mount  St.  Joseph  "  !  Let  us  hear  what  the  charms 
of  the  place  are.  I  have  been  there  myself  and  can 
vouch  for  the  truth  of  the  description : — 

"  As  you  reach  the  railway  bridge  a  fine  view  presents 
itself  to  the  weary  spirit  looking  ahead  to  that  perfect 
peace,  rest,  as  well  as  spiritual  and  bodily  recuperation 
sure  to  be  found  there.  In  among  the  copper  beeches, 
chestnuts,  and  drooping  ash,  and  on  the  right  side 
of  the  lodge  gate,  you  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  ladies' 
house,  a  fine  handsomely-constructed  building  of  red 
brick  and  limestone  hedged  in  with  flowering  shrubs, 
furnished  in  every  detail  most  comfortably,  and  pre- 
sided over  by  an  accomplished  lady,  who  caters  for  the 
comforts  of  her  visitors." 

How  lucrative  must  be  the  trade  done  by  those  Cister- 
cians to  warrant  the  erection  of  such  "  a  ladies'  house," 
presided  over  by  "  an  accomplished  lady."  Oh,  weak, 
deluded  Irish  women !  In  vain  you  go  for  rest  to  the 
mendicant  millers  of  Mount  St.  Joseph. 

"  It  is  a  full  English  mile  from  the  lodge  gate  to  the 
monastery,  and  as  the  party  drove  up  the  fine  avenue 
through  stately  elms  and  beech  trees  there  was  nothing 
but  praise  and  admiration  for  the  richness  and  variety 
of  the  scene.  Directly,  and  in  front  of  us,  comes  into 
view  the  guests'  house,  a  fine  old  mansion  built  some 
three  hundred  years  ago,  imposing  in  appearance,  with 
its  minarets  and  towers,  and  at  one  time  the  home  of 
revelry  and  Protestant  ascendency.  What  a  contrast 
there  is  here  to-day  presented.  The  cowled  monk  is 
seen  silently  moving  about  invoking  God's  grace  and 
blessings  on  all  who  come  there  seeking  peace  and 
consolation." 


A  BAD  EXAMPLE  399 

What  a  magnificent  abode  for  mendicants !  Pro- 
testant ascendency  may  have  been  bad,  as  all  religious 
ascendencies  are ;  but,  at  its  worst,  it  was  preferable 
to  the  ascendency  of  the  sacerdotal  organisation  whose 
members  now  fatten  upon  the  ebbing  life-blood  of  the 
people.  The  evicting  landlord  was  more  amenable  to 
reason  than  will  be  the  cowled  monk. 

"Standing  on  the  doorsteps,  one  sees  before  and 
around  him  the  great  church  and  monastery  build- 
ings where  once  stood  the  stables  of  the  horses  and 
kennels  of  the  hounds,  and  was  heard  the  horn  of  the 
hunter.  Now  is  to  be  heard  the  solonm  chant  of  the 
monks  and  the  tone  of  the  monastery  bell." 

Better  the  tongue  of  a  foxhound  and  the  neigh  of  a 
hunter  than  the  chant  of  an  effeminate  monasticism 
which  saps  the  vitality  of  a  credulous  people.  Better 
the  Ireland  of  Lever's  novels,  bad  as  it  was,  than  such 
an  Ireland  as  the  priest  now  gives  us. 

And  the  clerical  scribe  thus  eulogises  the  Irishman 
who  endowed  the  monkish  mendicants : — 

"  And  what  a  princely  gift — no  doubt,  an  inspired 
gift — from  a  noble  Irish  gentleman,  Count  Moore,  to 
these  good  old  Cistercians,  the  faithful  followers  of  St. 
Benedict,  of  this  fine  old  mansion  and  six  hundred 
acres,  given  for  the  glory  of  God  and  old  Catholic 
Ireland." 

If  there  are  any  other  such  men  in  Ireland,  I  implore 
them  not  to  allow  themselves  to  commit  the  crime  of 
following  the  example  of  "  Count "  Moore,  Chamberlain 
to  his  Holiness.  "  Count "  Moore  would  have  done  a 
deed  which  would  redound  to  his  credit  through  all  the 
ages,  if  he  had  split  up  that  six  hundred  acres  of  prime 
land  into  twenty  holdings  of  thirty  acres  each,  and 
presented  the  freehold  of  each  to  twenty  industrious 
farmers  of  good  character.     The  spot  would,  in  twenty 


4O0  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

years,  be  like  an  oasis  in  tlie  land,  and  the  donor's  fame 
would  deserve  to  live  for  ever.  Such  a  benefactor,  in- 
stead of  having  a  spurious,  valueless  title  for  his  reward 
in  this  life,  and  the  equally  valueless  intercessions  of 
the  Cistercians  in  the  next  life,  would  truly  deserve  to 
be  called  a  regenerator  of  his  country.  But  thus  it  is 
in  every  sphere  of  life  that  priestcraft  distorts  our  really 
good  intentions,  and  soaks  up  all  the  benevolence  of  the 
Irish  Catholics  like  a  sponge. 

"  The  party's  arrival  having  been  duly  announced, 
they  were  soon  in  the  hands  of  the  guest-master. 
Father  Benedict,  Father  Joachim,  and  others  of  the 
community,  and  after  partaking  of  refreshments,  were 
received  by  the  good  abbot  in  the  large  dining-room, 
where  they  handed  him  over  the  results  of  our  efforts 
to  help  him  in  his  difficulty.  .  .  .  After  dinner,  which 
was  served  by  the  monks,  and  to  which  auiple  justice 
was  done,  several  nice  little  speeches  were  delivered, 
the  abbot,  in  words  full  of  eloquence,  repeating  his 
sincere  thanks.  .  .  .  The  return  journey  was  very  pleas- 
ant. At  Roscrea  they  were  met  by  several  friends,  who 
further  entertained  them  before  starting.  On  the  way 
up  in  the  train  songs  and  recitations  were  rendered 
galore,  until  they  reached  Kingsbridge,  which  closed  a 
day  of  real  pleasure  and  good  works."  ^ 

What  a  Sunday's  work  !  We  may  rely  upon  it  there 
was  no  "  real  pleasure  "  in  that  train,  and  as  for  "  good 
works,"  there  were  none  whatever.  The  work  upon 
which  those  people  spent  their  Sunday  was  the 
work  of  cajoling  themselves,  wasting  their  time,  and 
degrading  their  race  and  country. 

Roscrea,  the  scene  of  that  episode,  is  only  about  thirty 
miles  from  Clara.  What  a  contrast  between  the  flour 
millers  in  the  two  towns  !  In  Roscrea,  it  is  milling  with 
muddling  and  mendicity.     In  Clara,  it  is  mainly  self- 

^  Evening  Herald,  August  24,  1901. 


THE   KING'S  COUNTY  401 

help,  business  capacity,  and  quiet  trustfulness  in  God. 
Which  of  the  two  women  "  grinding  at  the  mill "  would 
it  benefit  Ireland  to  see  "  taken,"  and  which,  think  you, 
would  it  be  well  for  her  to  have  "  left "  ? 

The  King's  County  occupies  the  most  central  posi- 
tion in  Ireland.  It  contains  the  large  area  of  493,999 
statute  acres,  of  which  109,963  are  under  crops, 
239,612  are  in  grass,  7052  in  woods,  98,240  in  turf 
bog,  10,124  under  marsh,  7093  in  mountain,  and  the 
balance,  20,720,  under  roads  and  fences.  The  popula- 
tion of  this  line  territory  in  1901  was  60,187,  of 
which  53,806  are  Catholics,  5513  are  Protestant 
Episcopalians,  353  Presbyterians,  392  Methodists,  and 
122  members  of  all  other  denominations,  including  62 
members  of  the  Society  of  Friends.^  The  population 
of  the  King's  County  sixty  years  ago,  in  the  year  1841, 
stood  at  the  high  figure  of  146,857,  and  since  then  it 
has  been  steadily  decreasing,  until  last  year  it  reached 
the  lowest  figure  on  record,  namely,  60,187.  In  con- 
sequence of  the  settlement  of  the  Society  of  Friends 
in  the  county,  there  is  a  little  rational  and  profitable 
industry  carried  on  within  its  bounds.  The  pauperism 
of  the  coimty  had  increased  from  i  in  44  in  1891  to  i 
in  32  of  the  population  in  1901.  There  are  within  the 
King's  County  ^6  priests,  21  monks,  and  38  theological 
students;  total,  135.  There  are  122  nuns.  The  teachers 
under  Catholic  clerical  control  amount  to  yj  male 
teachers  and  91  female  teachers;  total,  168.  The 
entire  total  of  the  Catholic  clerical  profession  and 
subsidiary  teaching  profession  amounts  to  425. 

The  Government  and  Municipal  establishment  in 
the  county,  including  civil  service  oflficers  and  clerks, 
prison  officers,  police,  municipal,  union,  county  and  local 
officials,  male  and  female,  only  amounts  to  372  persons. 

1  "Census  of  Ireland,"  1901,  Part  I.  vol.  i.  No.  5. 

2  C 


402  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

Thus  we  find  that  the  priests  have  at  their  control  in 
this  county,  as  well  as  in  Longford,  an  organisation 
which  is  more  important  than  the  Government  estab- 
lishment, and  which  is  to  a  great  extent  supported  by- 
Government  money. 

While  there  are  1 2  2  nuns,  there  are  only  1 4  mid^vives 
to  attend  to  the  7408  wives  within  the  county. 

The  legal  profession  numbers  24 ;  the  medical  pro- 
fession 2  7  ;  the  engineering  profession  4.  Thus  we 
find  that  the  total  for  the  three  professions,  5  5 ,  is  only 
one-eighth  of  the  strength  of  the  Catholic  clerical 
establishment. 

The  proportion  of  rational  industry  which  is  being 
successfully  carried  on  in  the  King's  County  under 
the  heading  of  "  hemp  and  other  fibrous  materials,"  is 
mainly  found  in  Clara ;  the  number  of  male  hands 
employed  being  156,  while  the  number  of  female  hands 
employed  is  354;  giving  us  a  total  of  5  i  o.  How  much 
more  useful  for  the  county,  and  for  the  country,  are  not 
those  5  10  male  and  female  workers  in  hemp  and  jute 
than  are  the  clerical  army  ?  It  may  be  safely  said  that 
the  500  hands  so  employed  contribute  to  the  support 
of  nearly  2000  people.  It  may  be  asserted  with  equal 
certainty  that  the  clerical  establishment  puts  a  strain 
upon  every  family  in  the  county  for  its  support. 

Out  of  8  5  males  receiving  a  "  superior  "  education, 
38  are  returned  as  theological  students,  or  close  upon 
50  per  cent,  of  the  whole.  And  there  are  only  54 
girls  receiving  a  "  superior "  education,  as  compared 
with  the  establishment  of  1 2  2  nuns  which  we  find  in 
the  county. 

There  is  a  Catholic  reformatory  school,  styled  St. 
Conleth's,  in  the  county ;  it  is  in  charge  of  the  Oblates 
of  Mary  Immaculate ;  and  its  254  boys  cost  the  State 
;^5844,  5s.  6d,,  or;6^22,  19s.  lod.  per  head  per  annum. 


INCREASED   SALARY  FOR  NUNS        403 

There  is  also  one  of  those  "  Industrial "  schools  in 
the  county,  in  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  at  Birr, 
containing  72  girls,  at  a  cost  of  ;^i43i,  i8s.  pd.,  or 
;^20,  7s.  7d.  per  head  per  annum.  The  total  of  the 
children  attendant  at  these  schools— namely,  342 — 
might  be  well  added,  in  the  capacity  of  camp  followers, 
to  the  clerical  army  of  425,  which  we  have  given  in 
contrast  with  the  Government  establishments  on  another 
page,  making  the  total  strength  of  the  clerical  forces 
in  King's  County  t6'j. 

The  nuns  at  Tullamore  Union  Workhouse,  in  the 
King's  County,  are  an  expensive  boon  to  the  rate- 
payers, as  they  are  everywhere  else  in  Ireland  where 
their  services  have  been  retained,  or  rather,  where  their 
rule  has  been  submitted  to.  I  tind,  that  at  a  meeting 
of  the  guardians  held 

"  to  consider  the  letter  of  the  bishop  with  reference  to 
the  salaries  of  the  nuns  in  the  institution,  the  clerk 
said  that  the  three  sisters  appointed  had  i,"20  a  year 
each,  but  no  rations.  The  board  was  unanimous  in 
considering  the  amount  too  small.  Mr.  Kelly  suggested 
that  the  extra  sister  be  paid  ^20.  The  clerk  said  it 
would  be  more  advisable  to  increase  the  salaries  of 
those  appointed  by  the  board,  and  not  to  consider  the 
fourth  sister. 

"  Mr.  Kelly — We  should  not  be  niggardly  about  this 
thing,  because  no  matter  what  treatment  they  get  they 
never  complain.  They  would  sufter  anything  before 
they  would  make  a  complaint. 

"Clerk — In  Drogheda  Union  they  get  ;^45  a  year 
each,  in  Trim  £}^^,  in  Mullingar  ^^30,  and  in  Navan 
£lo. 

"  Mr.  Kelly  gave  notice  of  motion  that  he  would  move 
that  the  three  existing  salaries  be  increased  by  ^10  a 
year."  ^ 

I  King's  County  Independent,  February  S,  1902. 


404  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

It  is  not  necessary  for  the  nims  to  "  complain,"  when 
the  bishop  can  do  it  so  triumphantly  on  their  behalf. 
I  make  no  imputation ;  but,  seeing  that  all  those  sisters 
have  taken  a  vow  of  poverty,  it  should  be  divulged 
whether  it  is  into  the  purses  of  the  Irish  bishops  these 
moneys,  paid  to  nuns  out  of  the  poor-rate,  find  their 
way.  Are  such  increases  of  salary  an  addition  to  the 
episcopal  stipends  ? 

The  existence  of  distilling,  brewing,  and  malting  in 
addition  to  the  hemp  and  other  industry,  within  the 
confines  of  King's  County,  gave  the  members  of  its 
County  Council  the  courage  to  reject  the  scheme  of 
technical  education  put  forward  in  the  interests  of  the 
priests  by  the  so-called  agricultural  and  technical 
instruction  committee.  The  King's  County  people  in 
Clara  and  Tullamore  do  something  for  themselves  at 
practical  manufacture,  and  they  know  that  such  public 
money  would  be  only  a  fresh  endowment  for  the 
clerical  establishments,  male  and  female,  and  their 
friends.  As  an  instance  of  how  time-serving  and 
humble  a  Catholic  bishop  can  be  when  he  is  firmly 
opposed  by  laymen  possessed  of  common  sense,  let  me 
quote  Bishop  Gaffney's  letter,  written  to  the  Westmcaili 
Independent,  on  this  point : — 


"  Mulling AE,  January  28,  1902. 

"  Dear  Mr.  Editor, — I  have  been  too  much  engaged 
with  pressing  business  since  the  Technical  Act  was 
floated  to  follow  it  in  close  detail.  Hence,  I  am  not  an 
expert  in  any  sense.  Even  if  my  opinion  were  entitled 
to  respect,  I  should  be  very  slow  to  express  it  with  any 
reference  to  the  action  of  the  King's  County  Council  in 
their  late  decision,  which  is  the  subject  of  your  query. — 
I  am,  dear  Mr.  Editor,  very  faithfully  yours, 

►J<  "  Matthew  Gaffney, 

"  Bishop  of  Meath," 


BISHOP  GAFFNEY  405 

It  is  a  point  gained  to  get  a  Catholic  bishop  to  admit 
that  he  is  not  an  expert  on  technical  education  or  on 
anything  else  in  which  there  is  money. 

The  priests  may  lie  low  for  a  while,  but  all  the  forces 
they  can  bring  to  bear  on  the  County  Councillors 
will  be  brought  into  play  during  the  next  twelve 
months  to  induce  that  body  to  tax  the  county,  so  that 
there  may  be  an  annual  grant  to  divide  amongst  the 
convents.  The  pluck  of  the  King's  County  Council 
may  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  the  county  lies  partly 
in  four  dioceses,  and  that  three  of  the  bishops  live  at  a 
long  distance  from  the  county.  If  it  were  all  in  one 
diocese  means  would  quickly  be  found  to  get  the  money 
voted  for  the  religious  orders  under  the  pretext  of 
advancing  technical  instruction. 

Bishop  Gaffney's  version  of  the  history  of  Ireland,  in 
his  last  pastoral  letter,  is  worth  quoting : — 

"  Looking  back  to  the  past,  it  would  be  easy  for  an 
apologist  to  find  nuich  to  plead,  if  not  in  justification, 
at  least  in  mitigation  of  forbidden  systems.  The  people 
were  driven  into  them  by  iniquitous  laws,  and  took 
their  own  desperate  remedies.  Open  rebellion,  secret 
societies,  the  ransom  of  revenge,  embodied  in  one  shape 
or  other,  appeared  by  turns  to  be  crushed  on  the  field 
of  unequal  battle,  or  by  the  gibbet  or  dungeon.  The 
Constitution  did  not  acknowledge  Catholics  except  to 

Eersecute  them ;  their  religion  debarred  them  from  its 
enefits,  and  when  emancipated  and  admitted  within 
the  Constitution  it  was  not  justice  but  fear  that  extorted 
any  concession."  ^ 

It  is  a  far  cry  back  to  the  penal  laws.  The  CathoHcs 
were  admitted  to  the  Constitution  in  1829;  and  what- 
ever may  have  been  the  motive  which  induced  the 
majority  of  the  United  Kingdom  to  so  admit  them, 
it    was    the    duty    of   our    ancestors    to    avail    them- 

'  Freeman's  Journal,  February  ii,  1902. 


4o6  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

selves  to  the  full  of  the  privileges  then  obtained.  They 
have  not  done  so  ;  they  have  been  deterred  and  mystified 
by  their  priests  into  not  doing  so,  and  nearly  three 
generations  of  Catholics  have  passed  away  since  emanci- 
pation, and  we  have  not  yet  reaped  those  benefits  which 
our  English  fellow-citizens  intended  we  should  win 
from  admission  to  all  the  privileges  of  the  British 
Constitution.  It  is  Bishop  Gafthey,  the  Pope,  and  the 
priests  who  have  gained  by  Catholic  emancipation,  not 
the  laity  of  Meath.  Bishop  Gaffney  next  discusses  our 
Parliamentary  representation : — 

"  We  got  representation,  but  it  was  a  travesty.  The 
cause  of  Ireland  pleaded  before  the  Imperial  Parliament 
with  all  the  resources  of  logic  and  rhetoric  made  as 
much  impression  on  it  as  the  pleadings  of  a  failing  of 
a  flock  for  its  life  would  make  on  wild  beasts." 

Bishop  Gaffney  is  unhappy  in  his  simile.  Our  Irish 
members  were  never  at  any  period  of  their  history 
"  the  fatlincrs  of  the  Irish  flock."  The  designation  is 
especially  inappropriate  to-day,  for  it  is  the  bishops  and 
priests  of  Ireland  who  are  "  the  fatlings  "  of  the  flock. 
Do  they  not  look  it  ?     And  they  are  what  they  look. 

Bishop  Gaffney  goes  on  to  say  that  "  it  was  the 
dread  of  smouldering  revolution  which  would  not  again 
take  the  field  to  be  slaughtered,  but  attacked  England 
in  her  strongholds  under  her  prison  walls  by  dangerous 
and  deadly  methods,  that  opened  the  eyes  of  the  greatest 
statesman  of  the  last  century  to  the  appalling  condition 
of  affairs." 

I  cannot  imagine  a  more  pernicious  doctrine  than 
this,  or  a  tirade  more  uncalled-for  by  existing  circum- 
stances. It  exemplifies  how  our  idle  bishops,  with 
their  "  contrasts,  analogies,  and  similitudes,"  perplex 
the  poor  laity.  Referring  to  the  passage  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's Land  Acts,  Bishop  Gaffney  says : — 


MEATH   METAPHORS  407 

"  There  was  such  a  howl  raised  that  one  would 
imagine  the  land  was  created  for  a  class,  and  not 
for  the  benefit  of  all,  but  he  (Mr.  Gladstone)  was  a 
skilful  pilot.  He  saw  the  ship  of  State  overladen  in 
heavy  seas,  and  pitched  over  some  of  the  freights  to 
lighten  the  burden." 

And  he  thus  describes  the  present  condition  of 
political  affairs : — 

"An    intolerant    minority,    hardly    a    tenth    of    the 

Eopulation,  holds  the  Government  in  the  hollow  of  its 
and,  and  justice  and  equity  must  be  flung  to  the 
winds.  If  a  minister  wants  to  make  a  speech  of  a 
certain  kind,  he  must  go  to  Belfast  for  an  audience ;  if 
he  wants  to  sport  his  rhetoric  in  pleasant  flashes,  he 
may  venture  in  Dublin." 

I  possess  some  slight  knowledge  of  tlie  condition  of 
affairs  in  Ireland,  but  I  am  quite  unable  to  understand 
who  the  minority  is,  forming  "  a  tenth  of  the  popula- 
tion "  that  holds  the  Government  of  the  present  day 
in  the  hollow  of  its  hand.  Mr.  Justin  M'Carthy  once 
boasted  that  he  held  Lord  Rosebery's  Government  "  in 
the  hollow  of  his  hand,"  and  no  benefit  to  Ireland 
followed  from  his  so  holding  it ;  but,  unless  Bishop 
GafFney  alludes  to  Father  Finlay  and  the  Jesuits,  I 
know  of  no  small  minority  who  seem  to  hold  the 
Government  in  the  hollow  of  its  hand  in  Ireland. 

And  I  will  not  believe  that  the  Jesuits  are  as  power- 
ful as  they  boast  they  are. 

"  If  Heaven  sent  us  a  minister,"  says  Bishop  Gaffney, 
"  who  would  be  strong  and  honest  to  redress  inequalities, 
even  if  he  perished  in  the  attempt,  he  would  leave  a 
noble  record  to  posterity,  and  pave  the  way  for  future 
victory,  but,  no,  the  whole  system  of  Government  is 
a  pantomime,  and  we  are  asked  to  take  their  mimic 
attempts  as  serious." 


4o8  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

Would  that  a  stronsf,  honest  man  could  be  found 
anywhere  at  the  present  day,  to  undertake  the  manage- 
ment of  affairs  in   Ireland  for  a  period  of  ten  years 
certain ;  a  strong  man,  who,  unlike  many  henpecked 
statesmen  of  recent  years,  would  squarely  face  Bishop 
Gaffney  and  the  powerful  clerical  army  of  which  he  is 
one  of  the  generals ;  and,  careless  of  popularity  or  un- 
popularity, set  himself  to  the  heroic  work  of  doing  real 
justice  to  the  lay  men  and  women  who  form  the  labour- 
ing, trading,  and  farming  classes  of  Catholic  Ireland, 
The  priests'  satellites  and  flatterers,  who  are  now  so 
noisy,  would  desert  them  speedily  in  such  a  conjuncture, 
and  something  might  be  done  at  length  for  the  Irish 
lay  Catholic  in  his  own  land.     The  cardinal  point  to 
which  such  a  strong  man  ought  to  direct  all  his  efforts, 
should  be  the  education  of  the  youth ;  and  he  should 
be  rigorous  in  insisting  that  no  priest  should  ever  have 
a  hand  therein.     The   priest   has  chapels   enough  in 
which  to  give  the  youth  of  Ireland  all  the  religion  that 
they  require,  but  he  should  be  kept  out  of  the  school, 
and  the  minds  of  the  young  men  should  be  given  a 
chance  of  developing  in  straight,  honourable  courses, 
instead  of  following  the  tortuous  bent  which  they  now 
receive  under  the  misdirection  of  the  priests. 

Bishop  Gaflfney's  reference  to  the  Catholic  University 
is  worthy  of  notice  : — 

"  There  is  a  question  of  vital  importance  to  three- 
quarters  of  the  population  and  tax-payers  of  this 
country,  and  for  half  a  century  they  are  dallying 
with  it  and  cornering  it.  We  refer  to  the  University 
question.  Forsooth  they  taunt  us  with  ignorance  and 
incapacity  to  fill  the  offices  of  the  State,  and  affect 
regret.  We  know  the  taunt,  but  yet  we  ask  them  to 
throw  open  to  us  the  fountains  of  learning,  and  let  us 
drink  from  its  pure  waters.     We  want  no  ascendency. 


GLASGOW  UNIVERSITY  409 

but  we  want  equality,  and  demand  it  in  the  name  of 
the  nation." 

The  fountains  of  learning  have  been  thrown  open  to 
the  Irish  Catholics  since  the  foundation  of  the  Queen's 
Colleges  in  1845,  and  since  the  abolition  of  the  Test 
Acts  in  Trinity  College,  Dublin.  We  have  got  equality. 
There  is  not  a  country  in  the  world  which  is  better 
equipped  for  giving  sound,  excellent,  unsectarian  uni- 
versity education  than  Ireland  is,  and  has  been  for  the 
past  fifty  years.  But  the  priests  have  deliberately 
prohibited  the  ignorant  Catholic  laity  from  taking 
advantage  of  that  equality.  They  desire,  not  equality, 
but  a  University  under  complete  priestly  control.  The 
■'  equality  "  they  ask  for  means  an  cqualitt/  of  cash  to 
be  handled  by  the  priests,  which  would  result  not  in 
equality,  but  inferiority  of  education,  for  the  students. 

Scotch  Presbyterians  should  observe  that  Bishop 
Gaffney  describes  the  invitation  recently  sent  by  the 
University  of  Glasgow  to  the  Pope,  as  the  successor 
of  Pope  Nicholas  V.,  its  founder,  as  "  a  sublime 
interchange  of  courtesy  between  the  Pope  and  the 
University,  and  a  lesson  to  the  bigot  on  which- 
soever side  he  arranges  himself."  Do  the  people  of 
Glasgow,  and  especially  the  Presbyterians  of  that  great 
business  city,  wish  to  injure  us  Irish  lay  Catholics  ? 
Do  they,  whose  ancestors  so  nobly  freed  themselves 
from  the  thraldom  of  priestcraft  in  secular  affairs,  seek 
to  tighten  the  grip  of  the  sacerdotal  snake  which  is 
strangling  Ireland  to  death  ?  I  cannot  believe  it.  The 
Marquis  of  Bute,  whose  conversion  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  has  been  so  belauded  by  the  priest- 
hood, may  have  been  generous  to  the  Glasgow  Univer- 
sity ;  but  I  ask  the  Glasgow  people,  are  they  prepared 
to  set  up  the  Marquis  of  Bute  as  an  example  to  them- 


4IO  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

selves  and  their  children  ?  Would  they  be  prepared  to 
surrender  their  own  wisely-exercised  civic  rights  to  the 
control  of  a  Bishop  Gaffney,  a  Cardinal  Logue,  or  a 
Bishop  Clancy  ?  I  should  be  inclined  to  say  that  in 
any  interchange  of  civilities  between  Glasgow  and 
the  Vatican,  the  balance  of  advantage  will  be  found 
to  the  credit  of  Glasgow.  That  is  not  the  case  in  the 
intercourse  between  Ireland  and  Rome.  There  all  the 
advantage,  both  in  cash  and  kind,  lies  with  the  Italian 
organisation,  and  all  the  disadvantage  and  loss, pecuniary, 
mental,  and  moral,  are  suffered  by  Ireland. 

The  Glasgow  people  may  learn  from  the  intensity  of 
the  opposition  given  by  their  own  kinsmen  in  the  north 
of  Ireland  to  the  further  endowment  of  priestcraft  for 
educational  purposes,  in  our  unfortunate  country,  how 
they  would  be  likely  to  act  themselves,  in  this  Priests' 
University  business,  if  they  were  face  to  face  with  the 
enormities  of  sacerdotalism  in  Ireland.  It  may  have 
been  a  flourish  on  the  part  of  the  Glasgow  University  to 
send  an  invitation  to  the  Pope,  which  they  knew  would 
never  be  accepted ;  but  let  them  take  note  that  their 
action  is  being  used  for  the  purpose  of  riveting  the 
chains  of  sacerdotal  obscurantism  in  education  and  in 
secular  affairs  upon  their  Catholic  fellow-countrymen, 
of  whom  I  am  one,  in  Ireland.  The  world  has  a  right 
to  expect  better  things  from  the  University  whose  name 
is  associated  with  that  benefactor  of  mankind,  the 
famous  Lord  Kelvin. 

The  way  in  which  the  priest  interferes  in  connection 
with  the  solemn  act  of  child-birth  well  reveals  his  in- 
capacity to  understand  the  condition  of  things  at  that 
vital  moment  of  human  existence.  For  him  that  gi-eat 
natural  event  in  the  lives  of  two  human  beings  is  but 
a  question  of  religious  "  shop  " ;  just  as  everything  else 
with  which  he  is  concerned.     If  there  is  one  more  out- 


THE  PRIEST  IN   MIDWIFERY  411 

standing  fact  than  another  in  connection  with  midwifery 
affairs  in  Catholic  Ireland,  it  is  that  vast  numbers  of 
our  better  class  Catholic  women  are  positively  afraid  to 
be  attended  by  a  Catholic  doctor ;  and  one  result  is,  that 
few,  if  any.  Catholic  doctors  have  attained  to  a  position 
of  lucrative  eminence  in  the  midwifery  branch  of  the 
profession,  I  do  not  say  that  all  our  Catholic  midwifery 
doctors  work  with  the  priests  in  this  business.  I  know 
some  of  them  who  certainly  are  too  well-informed  to 
lend  themselves  to  the  grossness  and  incapacity  of  the 
priest  in  such  a  vital  concern.  But  I  know  of  other 
eminent  Catholic  midwifery  doctors  who,  for  the  past 
forty  years,  have  been  persistently  boomed  by  bishops 
and  priests ;  but  who,  notwithstanding,  have  not  been 
able  to  make  money  by  their  practice,  owing  to  want 
of  confidence  in  them  on  the  part  of  Catholic  matrons. 
It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  priest  lays  it  down  for 
the  Catholic  midwifery  doctor  that,  whenever  it  is  a 
question  of  saving  the  life  of  either  the  parturient 
mother  or  of  the  unborn  child,  then  it  is  the  mother's 
life  which  must  be  sacrificed,  on  the  pretext  that  the 
child  may  be  born  alive  and  saved  from  hell  by* 
baptism !  They  base  their  locus  stayuli  on  their 
professed  zeal  for  the  administration  of  the  rite  of 
baptism.  It  reminds  one  of  the  conduct  of  the  Spanish 
friars  in  South  America,  who  used  to  baptize  the  Indian 
infants,  and  then  hurl  them  into  the  air  to  fall  upon  the 
upturned  points  of  the  bayonets  of  the  Spanish  soldiers. 
One  of  the  Catholic  midwifery  doctors  who,  despite 
priestly  advertisement,  did  not  succeed  in  making  money 
by  his  profession,  was  said  to  have  invented  a  mechani- 
cal appliance  for  baptizing  the  infant  in  its  mother's 
womb,  and  thereby  enabling  him  to  reconcile  it  to 
his  conscience  to  save  the  mother's  life,  if  it  were 
found  impossible  that  the  child  should  be  born  alive. 


412  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

I  have  often  considered  why  the  priest  should  take  up 
that  objectionable  position  in  midwifery  cases.  Inbred 
coarseness,  want  ot  sympathy,  and  ignorance  of  such 
matters  may  be  the  immediate  explanation  ;  but  I  have 
tried,  as  conscientiously  and  as  charitably  as  I  could,  to 
trace  the  real  origin  of  this  priestly  interference  in  such 
a  solemn  and  purely  secular  crisis  of  human  life. 

I  have  endeavoured  to  trace  up  the  origin  of  the 
priest's  carelessness  of  the  mother's  life,  and  I  believe 
it  is  a  legacy  from  the  vicious  habits  of  the  priesthood 
in  Italy  and  other  continental  countries,  and  that  it  is 
connected  with  the  well-known  saying,  "  every  priest 
christens  his  own  child  first."  I  believe  that  the  mothers 
of  the  illegitimate  children  of  the  priests  in  those 
countries  were  freely  sacrificed  at  child-birth  ;  and  that 
a  kind  of  law  and  lying  logic  on  the  subject  were  manu- 
factured by  the  continental  priests,  and  were  borrowed 
at  second-hand  by  our  Irish  priests,  the  lower  class  of 
whom  adopted  them,  those  continental  priests  being  the 
worst  exemplars  our  Irish  priests  could  follow. 

Let  us  see  how  this  illegal  dogma  works  out  in 
practice.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Tullamore  Guardians, 
held  on  4th  February  1902,^  there  were  two  candidates 
before  the  Board  for  the  vacant  position  of  medical 
officer  for  the  Philipstown  dispensary  district.  One  of 
the  candidates  was  Dr.  W.,  a  Catholic ;  and  the  other 
was  Dr.  T.,  a  Protestant;  and  some  of  the  Catholic 
guardians  supported  Dr.  T.  For  instance,  Mr.  Adams 
is  reported  to  have  said : — 

"Are  we  now  going  to  stultify  ourselves  by  saying 
that  because  a  man  may  be  a  Tory  and  a  Protestant 
we  will  not  elect  him  ?  Are  we  going  to  brand  our- 
selves with  bigotry,  and  banish  this  young  man  out 
of  the  country  because  he  is  a  Protestant  ?  .  .  .  I  will 

1  Kiny'i  County  Independent,  February  8,  1902. 


"BIGOTS   AND  TYRANTS"  413 

insist  on  my  right  to  analyse  the  claims  of  the  two 
gentlemen  that  are  before  us.  If  we  take  our  religion 
into  question  in  appointing  doctors " 

Mr.  Adams  was  here  interrupted  by  Mr.  Geraghty, 
who  said,  "  God  help  us  if  v)e  don't  !"  and  Mr.  Molloy, 
who  said,  "  Wc  want  no  Orangemen!"  Mr.  Adams 
went  on  to  say  that 

"  despite  all  this  intimidation  he  would  go  on.  The 
claims  of  one  man  were  known,  but  no  one  knew  what 
the  other  doctor  was.  Dr.  T.'s  father  is  a  benefactor  to 
the  country  and  to  the  working-classes.  The  applicant's 
father  has  built  up  an  industry  and  has  created  employ- 
ment, and  thus  put  money  into  circulation.  He  is  about 
to  expend  i^5000  to  extend  his  place  in  Tullamore." 

Mr.  Adams  was  frequently  interrupted  at  this  point, 
but  he  persisted  with  his  remarks,  and  he  said : — 

"  Is  your  Catholic  spirit  at  stake  at  this  election,  or  is 
one  Protestant  doctor  out  of  the  whole  lot  going  to  con- 
taminate you  ?  Four  doctors  out  of  the  live  are  Catholics, 
and  now  you  are  going  to  brand  yourselves  before  God 
and  man  as  bigots  and  tyrants,  simply  because  a  Pro- 
testant man  who  was  born  and  reared  amongst  you  comes 
looking  for  a  position.  In  years  gone  by,  when  there  was 
poverty  in  Tullamore,  Dr.  T.'s  father,  arm  in  arm  with 
the  bishop,  went  through  the  town,  opened  his  pockets, 
and  generously  gave  his  £$  and  ^^"10  notes.  Into  every 
lane  and  byway  in  Tullamore  he  went,  and  relieved  the 
wants  in  the  poor  homes,  and  it  is  the  son  of  this  man 
you  are  trying  to  hound  down  to-day." 

But  it  was  in  vain  for  Mr.  Adams  and  some  other 
Catholic  guardians  who  supported  the  claims  of  Dr.  T. 
One  of  the  guardians,  a  Mr.  Kelly,  had  the  following 
bomb-shell,  which  he  did  not  hesitate  to  throw  into  the 
midst  of  the  Board,  in  favour  of  Dr.  W.,  the  Catholic 
candidate.     He  is  reported  to  have  said : — 


414  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

"  It  is  taught  to  Protestant  doctors  that  in  dangerous 
confinements  it  is  proper  and  right  to  save  the  mother 
by  destroying  the  child.  Of  course  no  Catholic  doctor 
would  destroy  the  life  of  the  infant  coming  for  the  sake 
of  the  mother,  because  it  would  be  actual  murder.  (Sen- 
sation.) In  the  case  of  baptism,  Protestant  doctors  do 
not  look  upon  it  as  a  sacrament,  whereas  we  do.  If  the 
child  only  lives  a  few  minutes  it  is  absolutely  necessary 
to  have  some  one  near  to  administer  the  sacrament." 

"  Mr.  Adams — You  seem  to  be  very  high  up  in  the 
Church." 

"  Mr.  Kelly — I  graduated  long  ago,  and  if  you  make 
any  more  remarks  like  that  you  will  bring  me  back  to 
my  school  days.  I  have  a  letter  here  from  our  learned 
and  revered  parish  priest,  and  fearing  you  might  think 
I  might  add  to  or  diminish  from  it,  I  will  ask  the  clerk 
to  read  it." 

The  letter  which  is  now  about  to  be  read,  for  the 
purpose  of  getting  the  guardians  to  elect  the  priest's 
candidate  as  doctor  for  the  Philipstown  dispensary  dis- 
trict, is  well  worth  reproducing.  I  do  not  impute  to 
the  candidate  himself  any  cognisance  of  this  letter.  I 
should  be  loth,  indeed,  to  think  that  any  Catholic 
young  man  with  a  medical  qualification  would  consent 
to  receive  such  ignominious  aid  in  securing  his  election 
to  a  public  position  in  Ireland  : — 

"My  dear  John, — I  hope  you  will  do  your  best  with 
your  fellow-guardians  to  elect  a  Catholic  doctor  to-day. 
In  the  first  place,  because  it  is  taught  in  Protestant 
schools  of  medicine  that  it  is  lawful  sometimes  to  prac- 
tise craniotomy.  In  other  words,  if  a  doctor  finds  a 
woman  at  her  confinement  in  danger  of  death  from  the 
infant  in  her  womb,  the  Protestant  doctors  have  been 
taught  that  in  such  a  case  it  is  lawful  to  take  the  life  of 
the  child  in  order  to  save  the  life  of  the  mother ;  and  I 
have  known  it  to  be  done.  Of  course,  if  a  priest  was 
near  the  place  it  would  not  be  attempted.  Needless 
to  say,  the  Catholic  Church  does  not  tolerate  such  a 


SACERDOTAL  JOBBERY  415 

crime.  In  the  next  place,  it  frequently  happens  that 
infants  die  almost  immediately  after  birth.  Now,  if  a 
Catholic  doctor  bo  present  the  child  will  be  baptized, 
whereas  if  a  Protestant  be  present  the  child  will  not 
be  baptized  at  all ;  or  if,  to  please  the  mother,  the 
doctor  should  attempt  to  do  so,  in  all  probability  there 
will  be  some  omission  or  mistake,  which  will  render  the 
sacrament  null,  because  Protestants  do  not  believe  in 
the  necessity  of  baptism  for  salvation.  These  reasons 
against  voting  for  a  Protestant  bind  not  only  priests, 
but  all  Catholics.  May  God  bless  your  work  to-day. — 
Yours  sincerely,  J.  Bergix,  P.P." 

Would  this  represent  the  medico-theological  creed 
of  a  midwifery  school  in  a  statutory  university  under 
priests'  control  ?  Let  Archbishop  Walsh,  Cardinal 
Logue,  Cardinal  Vaughan,  and  certain  British  states- 
men whom  I  shall  not  name — for  I  cannot  believe  that 
their  anticipated  guilt  will  become  an  accomplished 
fact — euphuise  as  they  will  about  university  education, 
about  bimetallism,  about  naval  chaplaincies,  about 
immoral  literature,  about  Earls  and  Countesses  of 
Fingall  and  Dukes  of  Norfolk ;  that  letter  represents 
sacerdotal  Roman  Catholicism  in  one  branch  of  secular 
affairs  in  Ireland,  as  it  really  works  out  in  practice. 
If  I  were  a  guardian,  and  if  a  young  doctor  came 
before  me  posing  as  a  disciple  of  the  priests'  midwifery 
creed,  I  should  not  only  not  vote  for  him,  but  I  should 
do  everything  which  lay  within  my  power  to  compel 
him  to  leave  the  county  in  which  I  resided.  I  should 
not  like  to  be  looked  upon  as  belonging  to  the  same 
order  of  mammals  as  that  doctor.  Jobbincr,  bachelor 
priests,  selfishly  trained  in  isolation  at  Maynooth,  have 
no  right  to  obtrude  themselves  into  so  delicate  and 
solemn  a  crisis  as  that  of  childbirth.  They  do  not 
profess  to  be  fathers  of  children ;  they  are  not  hus- 
bands of  wives.     The  publication  of  that  letter  would, 


41 6  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

in  any  other  country,  sound  the  death-knell  of  inter- 
ference by  unmarried  priests  in  the  appointment  of 
poor  law  medical  officers. 

It  is  a  discreditable  epistle,  alike  to  its  writer — from 
whom  no  better  could  have  been  expected — and,  even 
more  so,  to  the  guardian  who  promulgated  its  contents 
for  the  purpose  of  influencing  an  election  at  his  own 
Board.  It  is  discreditable  to  the  entire  Board  of 
Guardians  who  allowed  such  an  epistle  to  be  read  at 
one  of  its  meetings.  And,  finally,  it  is  a  lasting  stigma 
upon  Catholic  medical  men,  from  the  contamination 
of  which  intending  medical  students  who  have  a  sense 
of  honour  should  studiously  keep  themselves  aloof. 

I  find  that  the  actual  voting  at  this  election  was  14 
for  Dr.  T.  and  34  for  Dr.  W.  I  consider  that  those 
fourteen  guardians — Messrs.  D.  Kane,  D.  O'Brien,  J. 
Corcoran,  Quinlan,  Butterfield,  J.  Molloy,  J.  Adams, 
J.  Kearney,  W.  Duffy,  M.  Power,  C.  J.  Clavin,  M.  Cor- 
bett,  P.  J.  Molloy,  and  J.  Sullivan — deserve  the  admira- 
tion of  the  country  for  their  protest  against  sacerdotal 
undue  influence  in  secular  business. 

Like  the  minority  of  the  guardians  at  Wexford,  who 
protest  against  handing  over  the  pauper  children  to 
the  nuns,  we  can  truly  say  of  them  that  it  would  be 
well  for  Ireland  if  the  majorities  of  all  our  Boards  were 
composed  of  such  men. 

Let  us  now  devote  a  little  attention  to  the  Dublin 
nuns,  and  then  we  shall  return  to  the  country  districts 
of  Leinster. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE  NUNS  OF  DUBLIN  AND  THEIR  WORK 

The  nuns  of  Ireland  act  as  jackals  to  the  priests. 
Those  well-meaning  communities  of  ladies  do  not,  1 
believe,  hoard  up  all  they  receive.  They  are  under 
the  direct  control  of  the  bishops.  May  not  the  lords 
spiritual  draw,  when  in  want,  upon  the  tender-hearted 
nuns  ?  The  nuns  encourage  piety  in  the  laity,  and  in 
that  way  indirectly  increase  the  revenue  of  the  priests 
wherever  their  convents  are  established.  For  instance, 
the  laity  will  more  frequently  pay  for  special  masses 
for  private  objects  in  districts  where  there  are  many 
convents  than  in  those  localities  where  the  convents  are 
few  in  number.  Directly  and  indirectly,  priests  must  get 
a  substantial  amount  of  pecuniary  help  from  the  nuns. 

Let  us  now  consider,  taking  them  at  their  own  esti- 
mate, the  numbers  and  varieties  of  the  nuns  quartered 
in  the  city  of  Dublin,  where  the  condition  of  the  poor 
Catholic  majority  of  the  population  is  such  a  disgrace 
to  our  religion. 

There  are  nine  Carmelite  convents  in  the  city  and 
its  vicinity:  Blackrock,  Delgany,  Tallaght,  Drumcondra, 
Stillorgan,  Roebuck,  Ranelagh,  Rathmines,  and  Harold's 
Cross,  containing  143  professed  Carmelite  nuns.  We 
find  that  they  do  practically  no  work,  being  engaged 
in  what  is  called  "  primitive  observance,"  with  the  ex- 
ception of  their  house  in  Tallaght,  in  connection  with 
which  tliere  is  a  State-endowed  National  School,  at 
which  80  children  attend. 

^'7  2  D 


41 8  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

The  convent  of  the  Most  Holy  Redeemer  at  Drum- 
condra  contains  35  professed  nuns,  and  we  are  told 
of  it  that  "  the  nuns  live  in  strict  enclosure,  and 
devote  themselves  to  a  life  of  reparation  and  inter- 
cessory prayer."  They  do  no  work,  but  are  constantly 
engaged  in  religious  exercises.  There  are  six  Presenta- 
tion convents,  four  being  within  the  precincts  of  the 
city  :  George's  Hill,  Terenure,  Clondalkin,  and  Warren- 
mount  ;  one  at  Maynooth,  and  one  at  Lucan.  The 
numbers  in  some  of  these  convents  are  not  admitted, 
but,  in  those  whose  inmates  are  given,  there  are  8  6  pro- 
fessed nuns.  They  all  receive  grants  under  the  National 
Board,  and  conduct  convent  National  Schools.  There 
are  fourteen  convents  of  Sisters  of  Mercy  in  the  diocese 
of  Dublin,  of  which  eleven  are  in  the  city ;  Baggot  Street 
Convent,  5  o  professed  nuns ;  Carysfort  Park,  Blackrock 
— a  nobleman's  demesne  recently  purchased — 80  pro- 
fessed nuns;  Booterstown  Convent;  St.  Patrick's  Refuge, 
Kingstown ;  St.  Vincent's  Golden  Bridge ;  the  Mater 
Misericordise  Hospital,  36  nuns;  to  which  is  attached 
a  convalescent  home  at  Drumcondra,  the  number  of 
nuns  at  which  is  not  given ;  Jervis  Street  Hospital ; 
St.  Joseph's  Night  Refuge ;  St.  Michael's  Hospital, 
Kingstown;  and  South  Dublin  Union  Hospital.  The 
number  of  inmates  in  many  of  these  convents  is  not 
admitted,  but  the  total  number  of  nuns  acknowledged 
by  this  Order  in  Dublin  is  231.  The  Sisters  of 
Mercy  keep  a  sectarian  Training  College  for  female 
National  teachers,  for  which  a  large  Government  grant 
was  given  last  year,  and  in  which  female  National 
teachers  are  being  brought  up  in  the  doctrine  of  com- 
plete subservience  to  sacerdotal  ascendency.  They  also 
receive  the  National  Board's  money  for  their  convent 
National  Schools.  They  conduct  the  Mater  Misericordiae 
Hospital,    Jervis    Street    Hospital,    and    St.    Michael's 


SISTERS  OF   MERCY   AND   CHARITY      419 

Hospital,  Kingstown,  all  of  which  must  be  profitable 
institutions,  under  the  complete  control  of  the  Sisters 
and,  through  them,  of  the  bishop  of  the  diocese.  We 
may  infer  from  the  vast  sums  received  in  legacies  what 
must  be  the  total  cash  receipts  of  those  houses  from 
all  sources.  The  practical  work  in  the  three  hospitals 
is  done  by  lay  people,  both  men  and  women.  The  nuns 
are  there  to  assert  the  supremacy  of  the  ecclesiastics 
over  the  institutions.  If  you  wish  to  know  what  is 
thought  of  their  competence  as  managers  of  such 
hospitals,  you  had  better  ask  in  a  friendly  way  one 
of  the  medical  men  attached  to  any  of  the  hospitals. 
The  Sisters  of  Mercy  are  also  employed  at  a  remunera- 
tion in  the  South  Dublin  Union  Hospital.  They  have 
Industrial  Schools  at  Booterstown,  Golden  Bridge,  and 
Rathdrum,  which  are  endowed  by  State  to  the  extent 
of  £44 1 8,  4s.  8d.  per  annum.  Their  St.  Joseph's  Refuge 
in  Brickfield  Lane  is  said  to  give  breakfast,  supper,  and 
shelter  to  the  homeless  poor,  a  very  laudable  work  ; 
but  it  makes  beggars  of  the  poor  in  its  locality,  and 
founds  thereupon  its  urgent  appeal  for  large  sub- 
scriptions to  the  charitable  Dublin  public.  Poor  Law 
Guardians  will  tell  you  that  its  existence  does  not 
diminish  the  claims  of  the  community  upon  the  South 
Dublin  Union,  which  is  quite  close  to  it.  The  Sisters 
of  Mercy  keep,  at  Kingsto^vn,  one  of  those  nun-managed 
Magdalene  Asylums  in  which  fallen  girls  are  confined, 
and  work,  without  wages,  at  the  remunerative  employ- 
ment of  laundry,  until  their  remains  are  consigned  "  to 
the  nameless  graves  in  the  cemetery." 

There  are  16  convents  of  Sisters  of  Charity,  all  of 
which  are  in  the  precincts  of  the  city :  Milltown,  nuns 
1 8,  novices  70 ;  Industrial  School,  Stanhope  Street, 
nuns  28;  Magdalene  Asylum,  Donnybrook,  nuns  19; 
Upper  Gardiner  Street,  nuns  2  5  ;  Sandymount,  nuns  1 7  ; 


420  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

St.  Vincent's  Hospital,  nuns  23,  and  to  this  hospital 
must  be  added  all  the  private  houses  in  Stephen's 
Green  and  Lower  Leeson  Street,  which  are  being  con- 
tinually absorbed  for  the  profession  of  remunerative 
nursing  by  this  order  of  nuns ;  Hospice  for  the  Dying, 
Harold's  Cross,  nuns  27;  Asylum  for  Female  Blind, 
Merrion,  nuns  23  ;  Orphanage,  Mountjoy  Street,  nuns 
1 8  ;  Convalescent  Home  in  connection  with  St.  Vincent's 
Hospital  at  Blackrock,  nuns  1 2  ;  Baldoyle,  nuns  1 2  ; 
the  Children's  Hospital,  Temple  Street,  nuns  12;  St. 
Laurence  O'Toole's,  nuns  11;  Little  Bray,  nuns  10; 
Howth,  nuns  6  ;  James's  Street,  nuns  i  o ;  admitted 
total  of  Sisters  of  Charity,  341.  They  receive  the 
National  Board's  grant,  and  carry  on  Convent  National 
Schools,  at  which  poor  Dublin  children  attend.  They 
have  Industrial  Schools  at  Sandymount  and  Mer- 
rion, endowed  by  the  Government  to  the  extent  of 
;^39 1 8,  1 2s.  6d.,  or  over  i^20  per  child  per  annum.  They 
manage  an  asylum  for  the  blind — a  laudable  work — 
which  receives  handsome  support  from  public  sub- 
scription and  legacies.  They  manage  a  hospice  for 
the  dying,  which  is  also  handsomely  supported  by  the 
public.  And  last,  and  most  important  of  all,  they  are, 
under  the  bishop,  the  proprietors  of  the  hospital  known 
as  St.  Vincent's,  in  Stephen's  Green,  which  must  be  a 
most  remunerative  institution,  judging  by  the  vast 
sums  of  money  it  receives,  and  by  its  continuous 
absorption  of  expensive  private  houses  to  accommodate 
the  ever-increasing  number  of  paying  patients  who 
extend  their  custom  to  this  religious  order.  They  also 
conduct  a  Magdalene  Penitentiary  at  Donnybrook,  in 
which  they  do  a  large  laundry  business,  and  get  the 
free  labour  of  a  hundred  penitents.  The  bedroom 
doors  of  the  poor  penitents  are  locked  at  night, 
and  they  are  bound  to  stay   in   that  penitentiary   at 


DOMINICAN   AND  LORETO   NUNS       421 

the  hard  work  of  laundry  for  the  best  years  of  their 
Uves ;  and  should  they  ever  leave  it,  they  find  them- 
selves in  a  world  in  which  they  are  more  helpless 
than  they  were  on  the  day  of  their  birth. 

Why  do  the  proprietors  of  those  penitentiaries  fear 
inspection  if  all  is  right  within  their  walls  ?  Should 
they  not  rather  court  it  ?  I  visited  one  of  those  peni- 
tentiaries, and  saw  the  poor  Magdalenes  in  chapel ; 
and  a  more  distressing  sight  I  never  saw.  They  were 
dressed  as  outcasts,  and  they  looked  outcasts.  And  a 
more  melancholy  existence  I  could  not  imagine  than 
theirs;  changing  from  the  soapsuds  in  the  steam 
laundry  to  the  confession-box,  or  the  chapel,  Avhich  is 
the  only  recreation  they  get.  Far,  indeed,  Avould  it 
seem  to  have  been  from  His  thoughts  to  have  con- 
demned the  original  Magdalene  to  such  a  life  as  the 
poor  galley-slaves  in  these  penitentiaries  lead. 

There  are  6  convents  of  Dominican  nuns  in  the 
diocese  of  Dublin,  of  which  5  are  within  the  precincts 
of  the  city.  They  are,  Muclcross  Park,  Marlborough 
Road,  recently  transferred  from  Merrion  Square  ;  Cabra 
Boarding  School  and  Institution  for  Deaf  and  Dumb,  in 
which  there  are  50  nuns;  Kingstown,  47  nuns;  Sion 
Hill,  Blackrock,  3  3  nuns ;  Eccles  Street,  1 9  nuns.  The 
sixth  Dominican  Convent  is  at  Wicklow,  and  in  it  there 
are  40  nuns.  Admitted  total  of  Dominican  nuns  for 
the  city,  156;  for  the  diocese,  196. 

The  Dominican  nuns  manage  their  profitable  boarding 
schools  and  college,  and  their  National  Schools,  endowed  by 
Government ;  and  they  have  charge  of  an  Institution  for 
Deaf  and  Dumb,  which  receives  a  great  deal  of  money. 

There  are  7  Loreto  Convents  in  Dublin.  They  are : 
Rathfarnham,  126  nuns;  North  Great  George  Street, 
30  nuns  ;  Stephen's  Green,  34  nuns  ;  Charlcvillc  House, 
Rathmines,  12  nuns;  Dalkey,  30  nuns;  Bray,  44  nuns; 


422  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

and  Balbriggan,  34  nuns.  Admitted  total  of  Loreto 
nuns,  310.  They  conduct  National  Schools,  endowed 
by  Government ;  and  superior  boarding  and  day  schools, 
which  must  be  very  profitable. 

The  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Faith  have  1 3  convents  in 
the  diocese  of  Dublin :  viz.  Glasnevin ;  St.  Brigid's 
Orphanage,  Eccles  Street ;  Clarendon  Street  Convent ; 
Little  Strand  Street  Convent ;  Coombe  Convent ;  Lower 
Dominick  Street  Convent ;  Clontarf  Convent ;  Had- 
dington Road  Convent ;  St.  Michael's  Convent  at  Fin- 
glas ;  Skerries  Convent ;  and  there  are  outside  the 
precincts  of  the  city,  but  in  the  diocese  of  Dublin, 
convents  at  Celbridge,  Newtownmountkennedy,  and 
Kilcool.  It  is  claimed  for  this  particular  Order  of  nuns 
that,  like  the  Christian  Brothers,  they  have  refused  to 
take  money  under  the  National  Education  Endowment, 
and  they  state,  as  a  claim  to  public  sympathy,  that 
they  employ  "  no  secular  teachers  "  in  their  schools.  They 
also  give  no  account  of  the  strength  of  their  communi- 
ties. They  manage  a  profitable  boarding  school,  their 
Orphanage  in  Eccles  Street,  which  receives  a  great  deal 
of  money,  and  their  Primary  Schools,  in  which  they 
employ  no  secular  teachers.  They  take  no  Government 
money,  but  of  course  their  maintenance  is  levied  off  the 
Catholic  laity.  The  Sisters  of  Charity  of  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul  have  6  convents  in  Dublin  diocese — North  William 
Street,  1 6  nuns ;  Fairview,  1 8  nuns ;  North  Dublin 
Union  Hospital,  2 1  nuns  ;  Cabra,  1 4  nuns  ;  Henrietta 
Street ;  and  Celbridge,  attached  to  the  Union  Work- 
house. So  far  as  we  know  then,  the  total  of  the 
French  Sisters  of  Charity  is  73,  within  the  city.  They 
manage  State-endowed  National  Schools,  own  a  Avell- 
supported  Orphanage,  keep  a  private  Lunatic  Asylum, 
and  are  installed  at  handsome  stipends  in  the  North 
Dublin  and  Celbridge  Unions. 


OUR  LADY  OF  REFUGE  423 

The  religious  of  the  Sacred  Heart  have  2  convents 
in  Dublin,  one  at  Mount  Anville,  Dundrum,  which 
was  at  one  time  the  famous  Mr.  Dargan's  house  and 
demesne ;  the  other  at  Lower  Leeson  Street,  which 
occupies  Lord  Ardilaun's  town-house  and  grounds. 
The  strength  of  these  communities  is  not  given,  so 
that  the  total  of  Sacred  Heart  nuns  is  unknown.  They 
have  a  lucrative  boarding  school  at  Mount  Anville,  and 
a  day  school  in  Lord  Ardilaun's  house  at  Leeson  Street, 
which  must  also  be  a  very  profitable  concern. 

The  Order  of  our  Lady  of  Charity  of  Refuge  owns 
High  Park,  Drumcondra,  in  which  there  are  65  nuns. 
That  institution  is,  perhaps,  the  largest  and  most  lucra- 
tive public  laundry  in  the  city  of  Dublin.  Its  vans  are 
to  be  seen  delivering  washing  and  collecting  money  in 
all  parts  of  the  town.  It  is  a  Magdalene  Asylum,  in  which 
it  is  stated  that  there  are  210  penitents  giving  their  ser- 
vices free  until  the  "  nameless  graves  in  the  cemetery  " 
claim  their  poor  bodies.  There  is  a  girls'  reformatory 
attached  to  it,  in  which  there  are  2  6  children  for  whom 
the  State  paysi^24, 1 8s.  5d.  each  per  annum.  This  Order 
works  another  Magdalene  asylum  in  Lower  Gloucester 
Street,  within  the  Mecklenburgh  Street  area,  in  which 
there  are  i  3  nuns  who  keep  90  fallen  women  at  work 
at  the  profitable  laundry  business.  Admitted  total 
Sisters  of  Charity  of  Refuge,  78. 

There  is  the  St.  Clare's  Convent  at  Harold's  Cross, 
in  which  there  are  1 8  nuns  admitted,  knoAvn  as  "  Poor 
Clares,"  and  who  own  an  orphanage  which  gets  sub- 
stantial public  support. 

There  is  the  convent  known  as  Mount  Sackville, 
Castleknock,  in  which  there  are  30  nuns  and  12 
postulants,  conducting  a  remunerative  boarding 
school. 

There  is  the  Convent  of  the  Bon  Secours  nuns  at 


424  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

Lower  Mount  Street,  in  which  there  are  24  nuns,  who 
allege  that  they  take  charge  of  the  sick. 

There  is  the  Convent  of  the  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor, 
called  St.  Patrick's  House,  Kilmainham,  in  which  there 
are  23  nuns,  and  who  keep  a  home  for  aged  people. 
They  are  well  supported  by  the  public,  receive  large 
legacies,  and  have  erected  a  most  expensive  and  spacious 
block  of  buildings  in  a  splendid  position. 

There  is  a  Convent  of  the  Poor  Servants  of  the 
Mother  of  God  at  Portland  Row,  in  which  there  are  9 
nuns,  and  this  Order  is  also  installed  in  the  Rathdown 
Union  with  8  nuns — total,  1 7.  They  keep  an  asylum 
for  aged  females,  and  draw  a  great  deal  of  money  from 
the  Dublin  public,  by  legacy  and  otherwise. 

Then  there  is  the  Convent  of  the  Adoration  at  54 
Merrion  Square,  Dublin,  in  which  there  are  1 1  nuns. 
It  is  said  of  this  convent  that  "  the  religious  employ 
themselves  in  endeavouring  to  promote  a  greater  love 
of  our  Lord  in  the  adorable  sacrament  of  the  altar, 
in  making  vestments,  both  for  poor  churches  and  to 
order,  and  in  visiting  the  sick  in  hospital."  They  do  no 
work,  but  are  employed,  as  their  name  implies,  in  the 
adoration  of  the  sacrament  of  the  altar,  and  whiling 
away  their  days  in  one  of  our  fashionable  Dublin  squares. 

The  Order  of  the  Daughters  of  the  Heart  of  Mary 
owns  an  orphanage,  in  connection  with  which  a  number 
of  ladies  recently  met  "  for  the  purpose  of  organising  a 
bazaar  to  defray  the  debt  of  ^1000  incurred  in  erecting 
steam  machinery  in  the  laundry,  which  has  been  the 
principal  support  of  the  orphanage  for  many  years." 
Thus,  like  the  Roscrea  millers,  they  get  the  public  to 
instal  their  new  machinery  for  them. 

There  are  also  the  Little  Sisters  of  the  Assumption, 
at  Lower  Camden  Street,  2 1  nuns ;  and  at  York  Street, 
Kingstown,  the  strength  of  the  community  not  given. 


Outside  the  Condemned  Cells,  Dublin  Police  Court 

"  Who  can  fathom  the  misery  of  the  poor  women  of  Dublin  ?    Where  is  female 
happiness  at  so  low  an  ebb,  or  the  tender  sex  so  little  prized?"  (p.  425). 


At  an  Old  Clothes  Mart,  Dublin 

"The  poor  Dublin  mother  of  a  large  family  finds  it  almost  impossible  to  clothe  herself 
and  her  offspring  "  (p.  433). 


STRENGTH   OF  THE  NUNS  425 

They  allege  that  they  are  engaged  in  nursmg  the  sick 
poor  in  their  own  homes,  and  they  receive  a  large 
amount  of  public  money. 

There  are,  in  fine,  93  convents  of  nuns  in  the  diocese 
of  Dublin,  and  they  are  all,  with  a  few  exceptions, 
situated  within  the  city  and  its  immediate  neighbour- 
hood/ They  draw  large  sums  of  money  from  the  public : 
(a)  in  Government  endowments ;  (b)  in  the  form  of 
deathbed  gifts  and  legacies;  (c)  in  annual  subscrip- 
tions, collections  at  charity  sermons,  and  by  personal 
appeals  for  alms.  The  professed  nuns  in  the  city  con- 
vents, whose  strength  is  admitted,  number  1649.  "^^ 
that  total  we  nmst  add  the  Orders  of  the  Sacred  Heart  and 
Holy  Faith,  whose  strength  is  not  disclosed,  and  several 
Orders  whose  strength  is  only  partially  admitted.  The 
total,  even  then,  would  not  include  novices,  except  in 
two  convents,  or  postulants,  or  the  numerous  subsidiary 
people,  not  including  pupils,  who  live  in  the  convents. 
If  all  were  added  together  it  would  be  found  that  the 
female  inhabitants  of  the  convents  in  the  diocese  of 
Dublin  would  be  numerous  enough  to  people  a  fair- 
sized  town,  and  would  be  over  3000  souls. 

If  all  the  money  and  employment  monopolised  by 
those  nuns  were  legitimately  distributed  amongst  the 
laity,  our  Catholic  womenfolk  would  be  bright  and 
contented,  instead  of  being  unhappy.  Those  3000 
female  religious,  housed  in  their  comfortable  fort- 
resses, away  from  the  temptations  and  struggles  of 
life,  deprive  our  Catholic  laywomen,  in  various  degrees, 
of  legitimate  occupation,  emolument,  and  happiness. 

Who  can  fathom  the  misery  of  the  poor  women  of 
Dublin  ?  Where  is  female  happiness  at  so  low  an  ebb, 
or  the  tender  sex  so  little  prized  ? 

^  Jrith  Catholic  Directory,  1902. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

THE    NUNS    IN    THE    SCHOOLS,    POORHOUSES, 
HOSPITALS,    AND    MAGDALEN    ASYLUMS 

The  nuns  have  ousted  lay  women  from  the  honourable 
employment  of  teaching  in  Ireland,  for  the  benefit  of 
the  religious,  priest-governed  communities ;  but  to  the 
mental  ruin  of  Irish  Roman  Catholic  womankind.  Our 
children  get  religion  in  the  convent  National  Schools  in 
all  its  most  superficial  and  least  essential  forms.  They 
are  taught,  for  instance,  to  reverence  the  statue  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin — robed  and  starred  as  she  is  said  to  have 
appeared  at  Knock.  Her  statue,  or  one  of  St.  Joseph, 
is  kept  enclosed  in  a  kind  of  spring-closet  during  the 
hours  of  the  day  which  must  he  devoted  to  secular 
teaching ;  and  then,  at  the  hour  for  religious  instruc- 
tion, the  closet  doors  spring  magically  open,  and  the 
Blessed  Virgin's  statue — the  Blessed  Virgin  herself,  in- 
deed, for  many  of  the  little  children — springs  forth  for 
their  homage  and  admiration.  We  hear  a  great  deal 
about  idolatry  nowadays,  and  indignation  is  expressed 
that  we  should  be  accused  of  it ;  but  what  is  idolatry  if 
it  is  not  the  paying  of  extravagant  respect  to  images  ? 
We  regard  it  as  idolatry  on  the  part  of  the  ancient 
Romans  to  have  honoured  the  statues  of  their  innumer- 
able gods ;  but  an  ancient  Roman  looking  on  at  the 
proceedings  in  a  convent  National  School — when  the 
magic  statue  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  suddenly  springs 

into  view  and  prayers  are  offered  up  before  it — could 

426 


CONVENT-BRED  GIRLS  427 

not  ref^ard  nuns  or  children  as   farther   advanced  in 
religious  evolution  than  he  himself  was. 

With  regard  to  the  better -class  teaching  done  by 
those  thousands  of  Dublin  nuns,  the  result  is  even 
worse,  for  the  respectable  girls  remain  in  the  nuns' 
charge  longer  than  the  poor  girls.  Therefore,  when 
they  leave  the  convents,  they  find  themselves  more 
helpless  even  than  the  National  School  children.  They 
have  been  trained  under  the  direction  of  unpractical 
women,  who,  either  from  devotion  or  cowardice — both 
words  often  mean  the  same  thmg — have  left  the  world 
in  despair.  The  only  knowledge  of  the  world  available 
to  nuns  is  derived  from  reading  bishops'  pastorals, 
which  describe  "  the  immoral  literature,"  the  "  dens  of 
seductive  vice,"  the  "  irreligious  treatment  of  the  dead 
at  wakes,"  the  "drunkenness  and  delirium  tremens," 
and  all  the  other  horrors  of  life  in  the  outside  world. 
The  result  of  a  convent  education  is  that  many  of  the 
more  emotional  and  sensitive  of  our  Catholic  girls  be- 
come nuns  themselves  from  sheer  fright,  as  the  easiest 
way  of  solving  the  horrible  problem  of  life  thus  pre- 
sented to  them.  The  ideas  of  convent -bred  girls  at 
the  present  time  about  men  are  shocking.  Both  in 
the  confessional  and  in  the  convent  they  have  been 
taught  to  take  it  for  granted  that  all  men  are  im- 
moral ;  and  I  have  more  than  once  been  amazed  to  find 
Catholic  young  ladies,  educated  at  the  best  of  those  con- 
vents, taking  the  existence  of  the  Mecklenburgh  Street 
area  as  a  necessity  and  a  matter  of  course,  and  being  as 
essential  a  part  of  Dublin  life  as  the  Two  Rock  Moun- 
tain or  the  Liffey  itself.  How  many  nice,  kind-hearted, 
intelligent  Catholic  girls  have  I  not  seen  emerging  from 
those  convents  and  finding  themselves  like  fish  out  of 
water  when  their  school-days  were  over.  They  had  lost 
touch  with  their  parents ;  they  had  lost  touch  with  the 


428  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

world ;  and  the  only  way  they  knew  of  occupying  their 
time  was  to  contmue  the  round  of  religious  exercises 
which  they  had  been  going  through  for  so  many  years 
at  the  convent.  As  for  turning  their  energies  to  any- 
thing practical  or  taking  a  sensible  part  in  household 
duties,  such  a  thing  was  out  of  the  question.  What  a 
flutter  those  nice  girls  just  out  of  convents  find  them- 
selves in  !  What  wildernesses  have  their  virgin  minds 
grown  into ! 

It  has  for  many  years  been  a  subject  of  complaint 
amongst  Catholic  men  that  the  spread  of  conventual 
education  is  ruining  our  Irish  womankind.  When  I 
was  a  youth  of  tAventy,  and  in  the  office  of  the  pious 
Freeman,  I  remember  that  articles  were  written,  facts 
collected,  and  all  prepared  for  a  circumstantial  attack 
upon  the  system  of  conventual  education  by  nuns  in 
Ireland.  At  that  time  the  public  were  just  beginning  to 
awake  to  the  evils  of  the  convent  system.  The  contrast 
between  the  non-convent-reared  girls  and  the  convent- 
reared  girls  was  striking  and  fresh  in  the  minds  of  parents. 
During  the  interval  of  nineteen  years  that  has  elapsed, 
the  freshness  of  that  contrast  has  died  away.  We  can- 
not contrast  non-convent-reared  girls  now  with  convent- 
reared  girls,  because  all  are,  alas,  reared  in  convents ! 

Once  a  girl  goes  into  those  convent  schools  her  parents 
have  lost  all  influence  over  her.  If  she  be  a  well-looking 
girl,  or  a  clever  girl,  or  a  rich  girl,  she  is  fooled  and 
flattered  and  made  a  snob  of;  and  all  her  energies 
are  dispersed  upon  the  silliest  and  most  mind-killing 
pursuits.  If  a  girl  be  an  orphan,  and  if  she  happen  to 
have  means,  she  is  certain  to  be  enticed  into  becoming  a 
nun,  and  making  her  fortune  over  to  the  community. 

Imagine  a  bevy  of  fresh  little  Irish  girls,  verdant 
as  grass,  pure  as  mountain  air,  and  plastic  as  potter's 
clay,  trooping  along  a  convent  corridor,  on  their  way 


ADORATION  OF  THE  CROSS  429 

to  class,  or  meals,  or  recreation,  and  passing  by  a 
statue  of  one  of  the  innumerable  crowd  of  so-called 
saints.  Behold  the  first  girl  tipping  the  statue's  feet, 
rubbing  her  fingers  reverently  against  the  pipeclay, 
and  then  pressing  her  fingers  against  her  own  fresh 
young  lips —  acting,  in  fact,  as  we  have  seen  the  thread- 
bare people  doing  in  the  Augustinian  Church.  And, 
behold  all  the  other  girls  following  suit,  like  ewe- 
lambs  !  O  fathers  of  those  girls,  why  do  you  allow 
it  ?  Those  girls  were  intended  for  a  nobler  destiny 
than  this  degrading  clay- worship  will  lead  them  to. 
Behold,  0  fathers  of  those  girls,  the  whole  convent 
gathered  together  on  parade  in  the  convent  chapel ! 
For  what  purpose  ?  For  the  adoration  of  the  cross  ! 
Not  for  the  adoration  of  God,  who  died  upon  it ;  but 
for  the  adoration  of  the  cross  itself.  Behold  that  chip 
of  wood  under  a  glass  case,  in  front  of  the  altar. 
Behold  your  daughters  filing  up,  one  after  the  other, 
and  behold  them  kneeling  before,  and  adoring,  that 
piece  of  wood,  and  reverently  pressing  their  young 
lips  against  the  glass  case  which  covers  it.  Was  it 
to  waste  their  young  days  thus  that  those  children 
were  born  alive  into  the  world  ?  Is  that  the  moral 
of  the  crucifixion  and  resurrection  ?  Is  that  a  fit 
training  for  the  future  mothers  of  the  nation  ?  Is 
that  the  way  to  rear  the  mothers  of  brave  sons  ? 
Rather,  is  it  not  the  way  to  stamp  cowardice  towards 
God  and  man  into  the  very  bowels  of  a  race  ?  Is  it 
not  blight  to  their  intellects,  death  to  their  budding 
energies,  and  blight  and  death  to  unborn  generations  ? 
Of  course  it  is ;  and  so  it  has  been.  O  fathers  of 
Ireland,  save  your  children  !  Do  something  to  pre- 
serve the  Catholic  Irishman  from  being  the  byword 
of  Europe  !  Save  your  children  from  being  manufac- 
tured into  cowards,  whose  main  bu.siness  in  after-life 


430  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

will  be  to  support  an  idle  priesthood  at  home  and 
abroad.  Your  children  will  become  Children  of  Mary, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  in  the  convents,  and  the  follow- 
ing will  be  their  frame  of  mind : — 

"  A  Child  of  Mary  writes :  As  the  third  Sunday 
after  Easter  is  the  Feast  of  the  Patronage  of  St. 
Joseph  I  am  making  a  novena  to  him,  and  ask  all 
who  read  this  to  say  a  pater  and  ave  for  my  intention, 
and  a  Hail  «Mary  to  St.  Expedit,  St.  Anthony,  and 
Blessed  Gerard."  ^ 

What  place  does  God — Father,  Son,  or  Holy  Ghost — 
occupy  in  that  child's  mind  ?  The  feast  of  the  Resur- 
rection is  forgotten  in  the  feast  of  the  Patronage  of 
St.  Joseph.  And  what  place  has  God  the  All-powerful, 
or  Christ  the  incarnate  God,  in  the  minds  of  the 
following  advertisers,  all  of  whom  represent  types  of 
Irish  convent-bred  girls,  who  have  their  pet  gods  and 
goddesses,  like  the  old  pagans  —  men  and  women 
apotheosised  after  death  ? 

"  Unworthy,  according  to  'promise,  wishes  publicly  to 
thank  the  Blessed  Virgin,  Saint  Joseph,  Saint  Benedict, 
Saint  Anthony,  Our  Lady  of  Good  Success,  and  Blessed 
Gerard,  for  restoration  of  a  friend  to  health,  also  for 
the  obtainment  of  a  much-needed  temporal  favour,  and 
asks  all  readers  to  say  a  Hail  Mary  in  thanksgiving, 
and  also  one  for  another  much-needed  favour."  ^ 

"  A.  M.  asks  readers  to  say  three  Hail  Marys  to  Our 
Lady  of  Perpetual  Succour,  St.  Joseph,  St.  Stanislaus, 
and  Blessed  Gerard  for  the  restoration  to  health  of  a 
young  girl  who  is  almost  the  sole  support  of  a  mother 
and  sister ;  also  for  a  very  urgent  temporal  favour.  If 
granted,  will  publish  it."  ^ 

"  J.  M.,  according  to  promise,  desires  to  publish  that 
she  has  been  cured  of  a  very  sore  throat  after  invoking 
the  intercession  of  St.  Blaise." 

'  hifih  Catholir,  April  1901.  2  Jbirl,  a  Ibid. 


HOW  TO  BRIBE  A  SAINT  431 

"  A  Grateful  One  (St.  Johns,  Newfoundland),  accord- 
ing to  promise,  thanks  the  Sacred  Heart  for  many 
favours  received  after  making  the  Nine  Fridays.  The 
intercession  of  Our  Lady  of  Perpetual  Succour,  St. 
Joseph,  St.  Anthony,  Blessed  Gerard  were  invoked. 
Blessed  Gerard  has  obtained  many  favours  for  the 
writer,  particularly  three  temporal  ones.  The  obstacles 
in  the  way  were  at  once  removed  when  a  promise  was 
made  to  give  a  donation  towards  his  canonisation. 
The  writer  begs  of  all  who  read  this  to  have  great 
confidence  in  Blessed  Gerard,  and  to  offer  up  a  little 
prayer  of  thanksgiving  to  the  Sacred  Heart  for  the 
great  favours  bestowed  on  Blessed  Gerard."  ^ 

Why  may  not  we  Catholics,  who  profess  to  be 
Christians,  pray  to  God,  the  Almighty,  the  All-knowing, 
as  Christ  has  adjured  us  to  do  in  words  which  a  child 
may  understand  : — 

"  But  when  ye  pray,  use  not  vain  repetitions  as  the 
heathen  do,  for  they  think  they  shall  be  heard  for  their 
much  speaking.  Be  not  ye,  therefore,  like  unto  them  ; 
for  your  Father  knoweth  what  things  ye  have  need  of 
before  ye  ask  Him.  After  this  manner,  therefore,  pray 
ye:  Our  Father,  who  art  in  heaven,  hallowed  be  Thy 
name." 

What  vain  repetitions  our  careworn,  misguided  Irish 
girls  use !  Even  when  they  do  pray  to  the  Redeemer, 
it  is  to  "  His  Sacred  Heart,"  or  even  to  "  His  Holy 
Face,"  or  in  some  other  such  idiotic,  priest-invented 
way,  or  they  place  Him  after  St.  Anthony  and  others 
of  their  pet  deities : — 

"  Unworthy  Sinner  publishes,  according  to  promise, 
thanks  to  the  Holy  Face  for  spiritual  and  temporal 
favours,  and  asks  readers  to  say  one  Our  Father  and 
Hail  Mary  in  thanksgiving  to  the  Holy  Face." 

"  J.  H.  wishes  to  return  thanks  to  the  Sacred  Heart, 
Our  Blessed  Lady  of  Perpetual  Succour,   St.  Joseph, 

'  Irish  Calholu;  June  i,  1901. 


432  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

St.  Patrick,  St.  Expedit,  Blessed  Gerard,  and  the  Holy 
Souls  for  a  temporal  favour,  and  asks  all  readers  to  say 
one  Hail  Mary  in  thanksgiving." 

"Client  of  St.  Anthony  wishes  to  return  thanks  to 
St.  Anthony,  the  Holy  Infant  Jesus,  and  St.  Joseph  for 
favours  received.  Asks  all  who  read  this  to  say  one 
Hail  Mary  in  thanksgiving."^ 

"As  the  19th  April  is  the  Feast  of  St.  Expedit,  writer 
is  making  a  novena  in  his  honour,  and  asks  all  who  see 
this  to  say  three  Hail  Marys  for  my  intentions,  and  one 
Hail  Mary  to  St.  Anthony  and  Blessed  Gerard."  - 

0  Irishmen  and  Irishwomen,  save  your  daughters  ! 
You  may  not  be  able  to  leave  them  riches  or  store  of 
knowledge,  but  you  can  at  least  save  them  from  being 
priest-ridden  cowards  and  mothers  of  cowards. 

Let  us  now  take  into  consideration  a  third  branch  of 
the  work  of  those  Dublin  convents,  and  endeavour  to 
find  out  whether  it  benefits  or  injures  the  country,  that 
is,  the  Convent  Industrial  Schools,  in  which  the  nuns 
have  461  children  under  their  charge,  for  whom  they 
receive  an  annual  grant  of  ;i^8  56i,  14s.,  or  about  ;£^20 
per  child  per  annum.  Those  children  are  procured  for 
the  convents  in  one  or  other  of  two  ways :  either  the 
children  are  genuine,  deserted  waifs,  who  are  hond-fide 
arrested  for  begging  or  vagrancy  by  the  police,  and 
committed  by  a  magistrate  to  some  one  of  those  nun- 
managed  industrial  schools.  If  that  were  the  only 
method  of  procuring  inmates,  those  industrial  schools 
would  be  full  of  children  of  the  lowest  class  in  the 
community.  But  the  nuns,  or  rather  the  priests  out- 
side, who  are  the  force  behind  the  nuns,  desirous  of 
getting  a  better  class  of  child,  arc  constantly  guilty  of 
the  subterfuge  of  prompting  fatherless  or  motherless 
children  of"  a  rather  better  class  to  go  out  on  the  streets 

1  Irixh  CathttKc,  April  13,  tool  -'  \h\(\. 


CLOTHING  THE  CHILDREN  433 

to  beg ;  and  a  friendly  policeman  is  brought  upon  the 
scene  to  arrest  the  particular  child,  charge  it  before  a 
magistrate,  and  have  it  committed  to  some  industrial 
school  which  is  suggested  to  the  Bench.  These  bogus 
proceedings  are  in  general  practice  all  over  Ireland. 
The  result  is  that  the  hond-fide  waifs  do  not  find  their 
way  into  those  industrial  schools,  and,  despite  the 
existence  of  so  many  of  those  expensive  institutions, 
our  streets  remain  crowded  by  daring  young  beggars 
and  vagrants,  who  are  sharp  enough  to  defy  detection 
and  arrest  by  the  police. 

The  work  done  by  the  nuns  does  not  alleviate  the 
volume  of  misery  and  poverty.  There  are  lay  societies, 
such  as  the  National  Society  for  the  Prevention  of 
Cruelty  to  Children,  and  the  Police-Aided  Children's 
Clothing  Society,  which  do  something  effective,  though 
they  enjoy  neither  sacerdotal  nor  Government  patron- 
age nor  endowment.  Her  Excellency  Countess  Cadogan 
took  the  chair  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  last- 
mentioned  Society  on  25th  February  1902,  and  so  little 
countenance  did  the  pious  Freeman  extend  to  the 
meeting,  that  no  report  of  it  appeared  in  that  paper  on 
26th  February.  Mrs.  Tolerton,  the  secretary  to  this 
Society,  tells  us  that  "  the  Association  had  clothed  i  500 
children  during  the  year  1901.  Many  of  the  children 
could  not  possibly  have  attended  school  without  the 
clothing  lent  by  the  Society.  In  several  cases  the 
children  were  so  naked,  that  it  was  quite  impossible 
for  them  to  attend  school.  They  had  been  reproached, 
because  they  clothed  the  children  whose  parents  had 
earned  enough  to  clothe  the  children  if  they  chose. 
But  the  reason  was  that  those  children  had  bad 
parents." 

The  poor  Dublin  mother  of  a  large  family  finds  it 
almost  impossible  to  clothe  herself  and  her  offspring. 

2  E 


434  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

"  They  had  arranged  with  the  National  Society  for  the 
Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Children  to  take  up  the  cases 
of  such  bad  parents,  and  to  have  them  prosecuted.  .  .  . 
They  wanted  very  badly  to  clothe  the  children  that 
went  to  school.  During  the  past  year  they  had  an 
increase  of  498  children  clothed  over  the  previous  year, 
and  they  had  no  corresponding  increase  in  their  funds." 

Amongst  the  Catholics  present  at  this  meeting  was 
Mr.  Joseph  Mooney,  J.P.,  Chairman  of  the  South  Dublin 
Union,  and  he  deserves  due  credit  for  having  attended. 
He  said,  "  He  was  a  Poor  Law  Guardian  of  one  of  their 
largest  Unions  for  a  good  many  years,  and  he  regretted 
to  say  that  during  the  sixteen  years  he  had  been  a 
member  of  the  Board,  there  had  been  an  annual  in- 
crease of  the  inmates,  and  this  year  there  were  over 
4000  in  it,  which  was  an  increase  of  300  on  the  same 
period  last  year.  .  .  .  The  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  found  that  the  number 
of  poor  to  he  relieved  was  increasing  every  year.  It  was 
not  for  them  to  examine  into  the  causes  of  these  most 
unpleasant  facts,  but  there  was  really  a  very  large 
amount  of  destitution  in  the  city,  from  whatever  cause 
it  proceeded,  and  the  aim  of  this  Society  was  one  which 
must  commend  itself  to  any  person  with  a  spark  of 
human  feeling  or  sympathy." 

It  would  be  an  eminently  useful  work  for  Mr. 
Mooney  to  undertake  "  an  examination  into  the  causes 
of  these  most  unpleasant  facts."  The  duty  is  cast  upon 
him  as  a  lay  Catholic  of  unusual  intelligence  to  inquire 
into  it.  The  duty  is  cast  upon  me,  as  a  lay  Catholic 
also,  to  do  my  part  in  awakening  public  interest  and 
stinmlating  inquiry ;  not  an  inquiry  by  the  Governors 
of  Ireland  for  the  time  being  conducted  in  hugger- 
mugger  with  the  bishops  and  priests,  as  if,  forsooth, 
they  represent    the   true  wants  of   the   Irish  Catholic 


THE   DUBLIN   PROTESTANTS  435 

laity ;  but  a  genuine,  truth-seeking  inquiry  by  Catholic 
laymen,  independent  of  the  priests,  men  who  work  for 
their  livings  and  who  have  to  rear  and  support  their 
families,  as  well  as  contribute  their  due  proportion  to 
the  maintenance  of  priests,  monks,  and  nuns,  and 
derelict  vagrants. 

Mr.  Mooney  went  on  to  say  :  "  It  was  true  that  a  good 
deal  of  the  money  of  the  Society  was  what  was  called 
Protestant  money,  but  the  vast  majority  of  those  re- 
lieved were  Catholics."  He  might  safely  have  said  that 
all  those  relieved  were  Catholics.  "The  greatest  care  was 
taken  to  prevent  anything  like  proselytism.  Two-thirds 
of  the  Committee  were  Catholic  ladies,  and  every  pos- 
sible safeguard  was  taken  to  preserve  the  Society  from 
any  charge  of  that  kind."     How  condescending  ! 

What  credit  ought  we  not  to  give  to  the  100,000 
Protestants  in  Dublin  city  and  county  ?  What  admira- 
tion should  we  not  feel  for  them  ?  In  the  face  of  priest- 
inspired  insult  and  misrepresentation  of  the  grossest 
kind,  in  the  face  of  outrage  upon  their  ministers  of 
religion,  occurring  even  at  the  present  day  in  our  midst, 
they  still  continue  to  subscribe  their  money  freely,  and 
to  devote  their  time  and  energies  to  the  betterment  of 
the  poor,  neglected  Catholic  people  of  Dublin. 

While  our  thousands  of  priests  and  nuns  are  im- 
mured in  their  new,  cut-stone  palaces,  going  through 
the  selfish  formalities  of  their  religion,  the  bright, 
energetic  Protestants  are  thus  doing  all  they  can — all 
they  dare — in  the  world  outside  to  comfort  and  elevate 
our  poor  lay  fellow-Catholics  and  then-  children ! 

Mr.  Brougham  Leech,  Registrar  of  Deeds,  who  attended 
this  meeting,  is  reported  as  having  said :  "  There  were 
50,000  children  insufficiently  clothed  and  fed  in  Dublin, 
and  requiring  the  aid  of  the  Society."  The  fifteen 
hundred  poor  children,  who  wear  the  clothes  lent  to 


436  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

them  by  this  one  Society,  are  thereby  enabled  to  attend 
the  convent  and  monastic  schools,  and  the  capitation 
grant  is  thus  secured  for  the  religious  who  manage 
those  institutions  !  I  find  there  are  only  1525  children 
returned  as  being  inmates  of  all  the  lavishly  1  sup- 
ported nuns'  orphanages  and  industrial  schools  in 
Dublin.     What  of  the  remaining  48,475  destitutes? 

The  nun,  as  the  agent  of  sacerdotalism,  makes  money 
on  the  poor  outside  the  poorhouses;  but  not  content 
with  that  source  of  revenue,  she  is  ordered  to  pursue 
them  into  the  poorhouses  and  draw  salaries  therein. 

Wherever  the  nun  goes,  like  the  priest  her  master, 
she  is  on  the  scent  of  money.  She  is  an  expensive 
luxury  in  Dublin  as  well  as  in  country  Unions.  At 
the  South  Dublin  Union,  "  Mr.  J.  Byrne,  pursuant  to 
notice,  moved  :  '  That  the  nuns'  residence  be  enlarged ; 
and  that  the  consent  of  the  Local  Government  Board 
be  requested  for  execution  of  the  work,  and  for  our 
borrowing  the  sum  of  ;i^3  500,  the  estimated  cost 
thereof.' " ' 

Despite  all  the  Roman  Catholic  priests,  monks,  and 
nuns,  and  all  the  religious  and  so-called  charitable  in- 
stitutions maintained  in  the  city  and  county  of  Dublin, 
there  are  few  districts  of  the  same  population  in  Ireland 
which  contain  a  higher  proportion  of  paupers.  The 
population  is  447,266  ;  the  valuation  ;^  1,620,03 7  ;  the 
number  of  people  relieved  in  the  four  Poor  Law  Unions 
in  1900,  indoor  and  outdoor,  was  59,467,  at  a  cost  of 
i^  I  32,780,  the  mean  poor-rate  for  the  year  in  the  four 
Unions  being  is.  5|d. 

A  contrast  will  illustrate  the  excessive  pauperism 
of  Dublin.  The  city  of  Belfast  and  county  of  Antrim 
have  a  population  of  526,240,  and  contain  seven  Poor 

'  Irish  Catholic  Directory,  1902. 
^  Evening  Herald,  August  28,  190 1. 


DUBLIN  PAUPERISM  437 

Law  Unions,  the  valuation  being  £1,970,^,47  in  1900, 
but  tlio  number  of  persons  in  receipt  of  relief,  indoor 
and  outdoor,  in  1900  was  only  48,836,  at  a  cost  of 
;^8 5,740,  the  mean  poor-rate  for  the  year  in  the  seven 
Unions  being  only  8|d.,  that  is  to  say,  half  the  mean 
poor-rate  for  the  city  and  county  of  Dublin. 

Dublin  is  crowded  with  thousands  of  priests,  monks, 
and  nuns,  whose  establishments  throw  everything  else 
into  the  shade ;  while  Antrim,  except  in  Belfast  and 
its  vicinity,  is  altogether  free  from  them.  In  Dublin 
the  recipients  of  poor-law  relief  are  almost  entirely 
Catholics;  in  Antrim,  the  percentage  of  Catholic 
paupers  is  far  higher  than  the  proportion  of  Catholics 
in  the  population.  What  truthful  explanation  can  we 
give  of  the  prosperity  of  Antrim  and  the  adversity  of 
Dublin,  except  the  difference  of  religion,  education, 
and  church  government  in  operation  in  the  respective 
locaHties  ?     None  that  I  can  discover. 

And,  furthermore,  Avere  it  not  for  the  enormous  civil 
service  expenditure  in  Dublin,  the  metropolis  would  be 
the  most  impoverished  area  in  the  country.  Belfast 
and  Antrim  receive  no  Government  money,  therefore 
the  figures  for  that  city  and  county  represent  the 
actual  condition  of  the  population. 

But  in  Dublin  the  position  looks  better  than  it 
really  is ;  for  if  the  civil  service  expenditure  were 
withdrawn,  and  the  city  and  the  county  left  to  their 
own  resources,  the  community  would  be  almost  bank- 
rupt. There  are  in  the  city  of  Dublin  no  less  than 
3983  civil  servants,  police  and  municipal  officers  !  In 
the  county  outside  the  city  there  are  2729.  This  gives 
us  a  total  of  6712  officials  in  the  city  and  county.  The 
military  and  naval  establishments  number,  in  addition, 
6566  persons;  grand  total  Dublin  civil  servants,  13,278! 

If  we  follow  the  nun  into  her  hospitals  and  Magdalen 


438  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

Asylums,  we  shall  tind  tlaat  it  would  be  better  for  the 
public  if  she  were  dispensed  with.  The  Protestant  hos- 
pitals give  employment  to  numbers  of  well-paid  lay 
people.  Their  government  is  vested  in  boards  of 
citizens — medical  doctors  included — representative  of 
the  subscribers  to  their  funds.  Their  accounts  are  pub- 
lished. Their  prime  object  is  to  discharge  hospital 
functions.  The  reverse  of  all  these  things  is  the  rule 
of  the  nun-owned  hospitals  of  Ireland.  They  give  a 
minimum  of  wage  and  employment.  The  nuns  govern 
like  autocrats,  without  representative  boards.  They 
ask  medical  men  to  hold  office  at  their  pleasure,  and 
sign  agreements  which,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Lancet, 
no  self-respecting  practitioner  should  submit  to. 

A  doctor  attached  to  a  nun-owned  hospital  informed 
me  that  the  house  was  without  indispensable  drugs  for 
weeks  at  a  time,  and  his  prescriptions  were  compounded 
and  dispensed,  by  direction  of  the  nuns,  luithout  the 
chief  drugs  he  had  ordered !  Nuns  have  falsified  a 
certificate  of  character  and  competence  which  was 
given  by  the  doctors  to  a  hospital  nurse  and  entrusted 
to  the  nuns'  custody,  because  they  discovered  that  the 
nurse  had  become  a  Protestant !  When  the  doctors 
insisted  on  giving  the  nurse  the  excellent  discharge 
to  which  she  was  entitled,  a  written  agreement  was 
drawn  up  for  their  signature,  m  which  they  were  asked 
to  consent  to  summary  dismissal  at  the  will  of  the  nuns. 
Some  of  them  signed  ;  others  resigned. 

The  Nuns'  Magdalen  Asylums  do  not  decrease  female 
immorality.  They  are  devoted  to  lucrative  laundry 
work,  which  must  enhance  the  wealth  of  the  religious. 
And  they  appear  to  draw  only  a  sufficient  supply  of 
recruits  from  the  immoral  reservations  to  maintain 
their  staffs ! 

Let  us  make  another  brief  excursion  into  Leinster. 


Lawrence. 


St.  Patrick's  Church,  Kilkenny 


"  Whereas  the  people  have  diminished  by  28  per  cent,  in  forty  years,  the  strength  of 
the  priests'  establishment  has  increased  by  no  per  cent."  (p.  439). 


Lawrence. 


St.  Kieran's  College,  Kilkenny 


"  If  there  be  British  statesmen  who  meditate  a  further  endowment  of  the  Irish  priesthood, 
let  those  figures  give  them  food  for  reflection"  (p.  439). 


CHAPTER   XXIII 

IN    THE    PROVINCE    OF    LEINSTER    (continued) 

KiLKENNVf  is  a  typical  county  of  southern  Leinster. 
Its  population  in  187  i  was  109,379;  and,  in  that  year, 
its  admitted  force  of  priests,  monks,  and  nuns  was  192. 
In  1 88 1  the  population  had  fallen  to  99,531,  but  its 
admitted  sacerdotal  establishment  had  increased  to  308. 
In  1 89 1  the  people  further  dwindled  away  to| 87,261, 
but  the  admitted  strength  of  the  clerical  force  rose  to 
328.  In  1 90 1  the  inhabitants  only  numbered  79,1  59  ; 
but  the  priests,  monks,  nuns,  and  theological  students 
had  further  risen  to  the  record  total  of  403.^  In  other 
words,  whereas  the  people  have  diminished  by  28  per 
cent,  in  thirty  years,  the  strength  of  the  priests'  estab- 
lishment has  increased  by  1 1  o  per  cent. !  I  lay  stress 
on  the  word  "  admitted,"  because,  in  my  opinion,  the 
census  returns  do  not  give  the  full  numbers  of  the 
inmates  of  clerical  institutions. 

If  there  be  British  statesmen  who  meditate  a  further 
endowment  of  the  Irish  priesthood,  under  the  deceptive 
pretext  of  improving  education,  let  those  figures  give 
them  food  for  reflection.  The  priest  has  been  running 
riot  in  the  county  of  Kilkenny ;  the  result  is  that  the 
minds  of  the  people  have  become  degenerate,  and  a 
fine  stretch  of  country,  liberally  endowed  by  Nature,  is 
languishing  in  the  hands  of  a  stupefied  and  decreasing 
population.  There  are  only  4349  members  of  the 
Reformed    Churches    in    the    county,    the    remaining 


^  "  Census  of  Ireland,"  1901. 
439 


440  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

74,830,  or  over  94  per  cent,  of  the  population,  being 
Roman  Catholics. 

The  ancient  city  of  Kilkenny,  so  centrally  and  well 
situated,  affords  an  example  of  continuous  urban  decay 
which  is  to  be  found  nowhere  else  in  the  British  Isles 
but  in  Catholic  Ireland.  It  contains  a  Catholic  cathe- 
dral and  four  churches ;  a  Dominican  Priory ;  a 
Capuchin  Friary ;  three  establishments  of  Christian 
Brothers;  a  Presentation  Convent  with  36  nuns;  two 
nun-managed  "industrial"  schools,  containing  276 
children,  for  whom  the  nuns  draw  ^5098  of  public 
money  per  annum ;  a  Loreto  Convent,  in  which  there 
are  2  6  nuns ;  an  establishment  of  Sisters  of  Mercy  in 
the  poorhouse  hospital ;  a  convent  of  the  Sisters  of 
St.  John  of  God,  containing  48  nuns;  a  settlement  of 
the  same  nuns  in  the  Fever  Hospital;  a  sacerdotal 
college,  St.  Kieran's,  of  which  I  give  an  illustration, 
and  in  which  there  are  14  priests.  I  do  not  know 
the  strength  of  the  Dominicans  and  Capuchins ;  but 
I  find  there  are,  in  this  unfortunate  and  historic 
city,  in  addition  to  the  foregoing  clerics,  12  secular 
priests  in  the  parishes,  besides  the  14  secular  priests 
in  the  college,  and  the  bishop  himself,  all  resident  in 
the  town.^ 

If  the  rule  of  the  priest  in  Ireland  is  to  be  judged 
by  results,  then  assuredly  the  condition  of  the  city  of 
Kilkenny  is  a  living  (or  dying)  witness  for  its  condem- 
nation. The  priest  has  had  it  all  his  own  way  in  "  the 
marble  city "  for  the  past  fifty  years ;  he  has  painted 
the  town  red  with  his  churches,  convents,  and  other 
institutions.  He  has  been  enjoying  himself,  like  the 
boy  in  the  fable,  stoning  the  frogs.  Meantime,  the  poor 
Kilkenny  people  sometimes  croaked,  protesting  it  was 
death  to  them,  and  they  returned  a  Pamellite  member 

^  Catholic  Directory,  1902, 


THE  PRIEST  IN   KILKENNY  441 

in  1892,  in  defiance  of  the  priests,  finding  courage  in 
the  polling  booths.  But  the  priests  continued  to  bleed 
them  and  smother  them  with  stones — St.  John's  new, 
unfinished  church/  for  instance,  which  might  well  be 
called  Brownrigg's  Folly.  And  the  priests  have  since 
made  their  own  of  the  whole  Irish  party,  Parnellites 
and  all,  reducing  it  into  subservience  by  their  sub- 
scriptions to  the  parliamentary  fund,  leaving  the  last 
state  of  Catholic  Ireland  worse  than  the  first.  In 
1 86 1  there  were  17,717  people  in  the  parliamentary 
borough  of  Kilkenny;  to-day  there  are  only  13,722. 
In  1 861  there  were  3162  houses  in  the  borough,  to-day 
there  are  only  2356;  and  its  industries  are  dead. 

In  the  county  of  Kilkenny,  outside  the  radius  of 
the  city,  there  are  a  Carmelite  Friary  at  Knocktopher ; 
an  Augustinian  Friary  and  a  settlement  of  Christian 
Brothers  at  Callan,  which  is  the  only  municipal  town 
in  the  county  except  Kilkenny.  Picture  to  yourself 
the  priest-ridden  little  town  of  Callan.  Its  population 
in  1 88 1  was  2340  ;  in  189 1  it  had  fallen  to  1973  ;  and 
in  1 90 1  it  was  only  1840,  248  of  whom  were  in  the 
poorhouse.  In  addition  to  the  Augustinians  and  the 
Christian  Brothers,  there  is  a  large  convent  of  Sisters 
of  Mercy  in  Callan,  containing  3  5  nuns.  Attached  to 
this  convent  is  the  St.  Brigid's  Missionary  School  for 
the  "  training  of  girls  desirous  of  becoming  nuns."  It 
is  stated,  on  behalf  of  this  school,  that  "  some  of  the 
Foreign  Missions  provide  free  places  for  talented 
subjects."  I  trust  the  inducement  may  not  entice  a 
single  Irish  father  to  send  his  child  to  such  a  school. 
It  is,  so  far  as  I  know,  the  only  school  which  professes 
to  educate  children  to  become  professional  nuns  ;  and  it 
represents  Kilkenny's  inventive  power  in  the  rehgion- 
business  of  Catholic  Ireland,  in  which  the  county  takes 

1  "  Five  Years  in  Ireland." 


442  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

such  a  leading  part.  The  Sisters  of  Mercy  are,  of  course, 
installed  in  the  Callan  poorhouse.  There  is  a  convent 
of  Sisters  of  Mercy  in  Thomastown ;  and  the  Sisters  of 
St.  John  of  God  are  installed  in  the  poorhouse  there. 
There  is  a  convent  of  St.  John  of  God  in  the  workhouse 
hospital  at  Castlecomer — the  place  where  the  lime  was 
thrown  in  Mr.  Parnell's  eyes — and  a  Presentation  Con- 
vent in  the  same  place.  There  are  also  Presentation 
Convents  at  Kilmacow  and  Mooncoin.  The  Sisters 
of  the  Holy  Faith  have  a  convent  at  Mullinavat ;  and 
there  is  a  Convent  of  Daughters  of  the  Sacred  Heart 
of  Mary  at  Ferrybank. 

Bishop  Brownrigg's  admitted  clerical  establishment 
in  Kilkenny  consists  of  1 1 5  priests,  1 7  monks,  3  6 
theological  students,  235  nuns,  1 1 1  male  teachers,  and 
210  female  teachers;  total,  724.  If  we  add  the  276 
children  in  the  industrial  schools  as  camp  followers, 
we  get  a  clerical  army  of  1000  souls,  and  not  counting 
the  novices,  postulants,  and  subsidiary  religious  people 
in  the  convents,  monasteries,  and  institutions.  The 
imperial  and  local  government  establishments,  includ- 
ing police,  civil  servants,  male  and  female,  county, 
parish,  and  municipal  officers,  only  number  5 1 9  persons, 
or,  as  in  the  case  of  most  other  Irish  counties,  only  half 
the  strength  of  the  sacerdotal  organisation. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  find  a  more  degenerate 
race  of  people,  inhabiting  a  fertile  tract  of  country, 
than  one  meets  in  Kilkenny,  Out  of  its  total  area  of 
508,670  statute  acres,  only  1 1,684  acres  are  returned 
as  barren  mountain,  444,274  acres  being  under  grass 
and  crops.  If  the  priests,  monks,  and  nuns  could  be 
removed  from  Kilkenny  for  ten  years,  the  face  of  the 
country  would  smile  like  a  land  of  promise. 

I  have  already  given  the  ratio  of  the  growth  of  the 
clerics  and  the  shrinkage  of  the  people  in  the  counties 


"SWEET   KILDARE"  443 

of  Kildare  and  Carlow,  which  adjoin  Kilkenny.  Let 
me  now  devote  a  few  pages  to  them.  "  Sweet  Kildare, 
the  county  of  the  short  grass,"  as  the  natives  call 
it,  is  remarkable  for  the  famous  Curragh  of  Kildare, 
renowned  for  its  horse-racing  and  its  soldiers. 

I  happened  to  be  a  traveller  one  morning  by  train  from 
Dublin  to  Kilkenny,  and  when  we  arrived  at  Kildare 
station,  a  number  of  priests  were  standing  on  the  plat- 
form. A  Carlow  man  happened  to  be  in  our  carriage, 
and  he  said  that  the  priests  were  going  to  Carlow  to 
celebrate  the  Month's  Mind  of  the  Bishop  of  Kildare 
and  Leighlin,  who  had  died  during  the  previous 
month  ;  and  he  added,  pointing  to  a  stout,  self-assertive 
priest,  who  stood  in  the  midst  of  a  crowd  of  admirers, 
"  There's  the  Bishop-elect ;  that's  him,  that's  Father 
Murphy  ! "  And  the  man  seemed  quite  swelled  out  at 
the  importance  which  accrued  to  him  from  being  in  a 
position  to  recognise  Father  Murphy.  I  inquired  if 
the  priests  had  elected  a  bishop.  He  answered  that 
they  had  not. 

"  But,"  said  he,  "  if  you  wanted  to  make  any  money 
over  it,  you  would  have  to  lay  odds  against  Father 
Murphy.  There  is  five  to  four  on  him  amongst  every 
one  that  is  in  the  know.  I  was  in  Carlow  last  week, 
and  Father  Foley  is  a  strong  favourite  there ;  but  at 
this  side  of  the  diocese  they  are  all  for  Father  Murphy. 
I  could  get  evens  about  Father  Murphy  in  Carlow,  but 
if  I  was  in  Kildare  I  would  have  to  lay  as  much  as 
two  or  three  to  one  against  him." 

"  But,"  said  I,  "  nobody  knows  anything  about  the 
matter.  The  laity  have  no  voice  in  the  election.  It  is 
entirely  a  matter  for  the  parish  priests  of  the  diocese." 

"  Oh,  bedad,  that  is  so,"  he  replied.  "  We  know  as 
little  about  it  as  we  do  about  the  Cesarewitch  or  the 
Cambridgeshire." 


444  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

All  this  conversation  took  place  within  a  few  miles 
of  the  Curragh,  so  that  the  betting  phraseology  Avas 
appropriate  to  the  locality.  Indeed,  it  may  be  said 
that  most  people  in  Kildare  and  Carlow  sum  up  every- 
thing in  betting  fashion.  With  them  it  is  Five  to  foihr 
on  ;  A  thousand  to  twenty -five  against ;  Evens  on  the 
field ;  or,  Ten  to  one,  bar  one !  And  the  speculation 
rife  throughout  the  entire  diocese,  while  the  election  of 
the  bishop  was  pending,  was  nearly  all  of  the  nature  of 
this  conversation  in  the  train.  Hundreds  of  bets  were 
made  about  the  election,  and  tips  were  eagerly  sought 
from  parish  priests  and  curates.  If  a  Kildare  man 
succeeded  in  making  a  few  pounds  over  the  election, 
he  was  content ;  and  was  less  concerned  about  the 
personality  ot  the  new  bishop  than  about  that  of  the 
winner  'of  the  Cesarewitch  or  the  Grand  National. 

When  we  arrived  at  a  wayside  station  beyond  Kildare, 
a  distinguished-looking,  elderly  gentleman  was  seen 
standing  on  the  platform.  We  now  had  a  number  of 
priests  in  the  carriage  with  us.  It  was  one  of  those 
open  second-class  carriages,  containing  two  or  three 
compartments  with  low  partitions  between  them.  The 
priests,  who  had  been  either  dumb,  immersed  in  their 
newspapers,  or  conferring  in  restrained  tones  betAveen 
themselves,  now  jumped  to  their  feet  at  the  sight  of 
this  elderly  gentleman,  and  the  cry  rang  out  through 
the  carriage,  "  There  is  Mr.  Dease !  there  is  Mr. 
Dease ! " 

Some  of  the  priests  did  not  know  Mr.  Dease's  appear- 
ance, and  those  who  did  know  him  pointed  him  out  to 
their  brethren  with  as  much  self-importance  at  having 
recognised  him  as  the  Carlow  man  had  shown  at  having 
recognised  Father  Murphy.  Fresh  priests  got  into  the 
carriage  at  this  station,  and  each  one  of  the  priests  who 
were  in  the  carriage,  exclaimed  to  the  new  arrivals: 


A  CATHOLIC   GENTLEMAN  445 

"  I  saw  Mr.  Dease  on  the  platform ;  "  or,  "  Did  you  see 
Mr.  Dease  outside  ? "  And  the  newcomers,  with  s^reat 
importance,  informed  us  all  that  Mr.  Dease  was  going 
to  the  Bishop's  Month's  Mind  at  Carlow,  The  acquisi- 
tion of  Mr.  Dease  to  the  assemblage  seemed  to  be 
looked  upon  as  an  extraordinary  blessing ;  and  as  the 
train  moved  on,  in  the  snatches  of  conversation  amongst 
the  priests,  I  could  hear  the  name  of  Mr.  Dease  bandied 
about  on  every  tongue.  The  train  steamed  through  the 
well-farmed  countr}'  about  A  thy,  and  stopped  at  a  way- 
side station ;  and  I  heard  each  fresh  sacerdotal  arrival 
being  informed  by  his  friends  that  "  Mr.  Dease  was  in 
the  train " ;  and  before  we  reached  Carlow,  I  heard 
the  following  dialogue  repeated  at  least  a  dozen  times 
between  priests : — 

Our  Priest.  "  Oh,  how  do  you  do  ?     Fine  morning." 
Newcomer.    "  Right   well,   thanks.     Glad   to   see  ye. 

Have  you  room  there  for  a  small  fellow  ? " 
Our  Priest.  "  Mr.  Dease  is  in  the  train ! " 
Newcomer.  "  Is  that  so  ?     Is  he  coming  to  Carlow  ? " 
Our  Priest.  "  He  is ;   he  is  coming  to  the  Month's 

Mind  at  the  Cathedral." 
Newcomer.  "  Oh,  I  wonder,  could  I  see  him  ?     If  I 

went  out,  would  I  have  time  before  the  train  starts  ? 

Which  part  of  the  train  is  he  in  ? " 

The  amount  of  joy  and  self-satisfaction  they  evinced 
at  having  a  Catholic  gentleman  bent  on  the  same  mis- 
sion as  themselves  cannot  be  described  in  writing.  At 
Carlow,  when  all  the  priests  got  out,  lightening  the 
train  and  blackening  the  platform  by  their  presence, 
I  could  see  Mr.  Dease's  tall,  gentleman-like  figure 
making  his  way  between  them,  recognising  none  of 
them,  but  admired  and  stared  at  by  them  all.  From 
this  incident,  which  I  saw  myself,  it  can  well  be  under- 
stood why  our  Catholic  gentry  do  nothing  to  diminish 


446  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

the  power  of  the  priests,  though  they  keep  studiously 
aloof  from  personal  contact  with  them. 

Kildare  possesses  9 9 priests,  20  monks,  526  theological 
students,  7  3  male  Catholic  teachers  and  assistant  teachers, 
207  nuns,and  115  Catholic  female  teachers  and  assistant 
teachers.  This  gives  a  total  of  1 040  persons,  male  and 
female,  devoted  to  the  service  of  the  sacerdotal  organisa- 
tion in  Kildare  ;  and  this  large  force  draws  a  great  deal 
of  taxpayers'  money,  in  addition  to  the  subscriptions 
extracted  for  their  maintenance  from  the  people.  Con- 
trasting it  with  the  other  establishments  in  the  county, 
we  find  that  its  power  and  numbers  are  out  of  all  pro- 
portion to  the  means  of  the  people.  The  imperial  and 
local  governments  maintain  in  the  county,  civil  service 
officers  and  clerks,  60;  police,  177;  municipal,  parish, 
union,  district,  local  and  county  officials,  73  ;  female 
civil  service  officers  and  clerks,  municipal,  parish, 
union,  and  district  officers,  73  ;  total,  383,  which  is  not 
much  more  than  one-third  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
sacerdotal  establishment.  There  are,  besides  Maynooth, 
two  other  colleges  conducted  by  Regular  priests — 
namely,  the  Jesuits'  College  at  Clongowes  Wood,  and 
the  Dominicans'  at  Newbridge,  having  345  students — 
many  of  whom  should  also  be  described  as  "  theo- 
logical students." 

The  Jesuit  advertisement  says :  "  The  Religious  train- 
ing of  the  boys  in  Doctrine  and  Morals  forms  the  main 
feature  of  the  Jesuit  educational  system.  A  course  of 
religious  instruction  is  obligatory  on  all." 

The  neglect  of  Catholic  female  education  receives  a 
striking  exemplification  in  Kildare.  There  are  only 
84  girls  receiving  a  so-called  "superior"  education  in 
the  county,  while  there  are  207  nuns.  There  are,  on 
the  contrary,  884  young  men  receiving  a  "superior" 
education,  and,  out   of  that   total,   there  are   504  at 


THE   PRIEST   IN   CARLOW  447 

Maynootli  College  studying  for  the  priesthood,  and, 
in  addition,  a  considerable  number  studying  for 
the  priesthood  also,  though  not  so  specified,  at 
Clongowes  Wood  and  at  Newbridge.  I  should  be 
inclined  to  say  that  out  of  the  884  youths  receiving  a 
"  superior  "  education,  under  priestly  direction,  in  the 
county  of  Kildare,  at  least  650  are  studying  for  the 
priesthood ! 

Carlow  is  a  fertile,  well-watered  little  county,  and 
contains  the  important  town  of  Carlow,  which  has  a 
population  of  65 1 3.  Catholic  ecclesiasticism  is  fashion- 
able, dapper,  and  influential  there — it,  in  fact,  sets  the 
mode.  There  are  in  the  county  6  5  civil  service  officers 
and  clerks,  male  and  female,  99  members  of  the  Royal 
Irish  Constabulary,  and  72  soldiers;  total,  236.  There 
are  20  municipal  officers,  male  and  female;  and  27 
county  and  local  officials,  male  and  female;  total,  47. 
The  professional  classes  consist  of  9  solicitors,  20  doctors, 
and  4  civil  engineers;  total,  33.  Let  us  contrast  these 
figures  now  with  the  clerical  forces  of  our  Catholic 
"  Church "  in  this  county,  which  are  as  follows :  a 
bishop,  42  priests,  20  monks,  142  nuns,  123  theological 
students,  46  male  Catholic  teachers  under  clerical 
control,  and  58  Catholic  female  teachers;  total,  432 
persons.  We  thus  find  that  while  the  Government 
only  requires  an  establishment  of  2  36  persons,  including 
civil  servants,  constabulary,  and  military  of  all  ranks, 
to  manage  the  county,  the  clerical  portion  of  our 
Church  possesses  an  effective  force  of  priests,  monks, 
theological  students,  nuns,  and  male  and  female  teachers 
under  clerical  control,  amounting  to  432  persons,  or 
almost  double  the  Government  establishment ;  while  it 
is  almost  ten  times  the  municipal  and  county  official 
establishment,  and  thirteen  times  all  the  other  pro- 
fessions put  together.    In  the  county  of  Carlow  there  are 


448  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

a  costly  cathedral  and  diocesan  college ;  Presentation 
convents  at  Carlow  and  Bagenalstown ;  a  convent  of 
St.  Bridget  at  TuUow ;  Sisters  of  Mercy  at  Carlow ; 
Poor  Clares  at  Carlow-Graigue ;  and  three  settlements 
of  Christian  Brothers. 

It  would  be  hard  to  find  a  sensible  and  promising  lay 
population  more  soaked  in  ecclesiastical  ideas  than  are 
the  Catholics  of  Carlow.  While  there  are  143  nuns, 
there  are  only  7  midwives  in  the  county  to  attend  to 
the  5018  wives  which  inhabit  it.  No  gloomier  life 
can  be  imagined  than  that  of  the  Catholic  Carlow 
farmer,  shopkeeper,  or  labourer.  His  sole  source  and 
store  of  intellectual  amusement  and  information  lie 
in  the  priests.  He  lives  in  a  fog  of  constant  doubt 
and  periodical  dismay  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave ; 
his  inner  life  being  one  of  subterfuge  and  self-decep- 
tion. The  Barrow,  his  bounteous  native  stream,  flows 
idly  past  him  to  the  sea,  all  its  facilities  unused  ; 
his  land  is  what  a  Lincolnshire  farmer  would  con- 
sider only  half-tilled,  and  he  does  not  earn  half  as 
much  from  his  produce  as  he  might  if  he  were 
awake.  Yet,  like  all  ignorant  and  backward  peoples  on 
the  face  of  the  globe,  he  is  sensitive  and  self-satisfied 
— proud,  he  thinks  himself — occupying  himself  with 
religious  or  political  baubles,  like  the  mind-killing 
propaganda  of  the  Gaelic  League,  a  priestly  insti- 
tution ;  or  enrolling  himself  in  confraternities  and 
sodalities,  all  of  which  are  in  reality  but  sops  thrown 
to  him  by  the  priests  to  keep  him  quiet  and  to  pre- 
vent him  from  rousing  himself  to  a  realisation  of  the 
immense  power  that  is  in  him,  and  the  glorious  pos- 
sibilities that  are  within  his  reach.  It  is  not  illi- 
teracy— the  mere  non-ability  to  read  print  and  to  write 
down  the  alphabetical  signs — which  keeps  him  as  he 
is.     The  schoolmaster  is  abroad  in  Carlow ;  but  the 


EDUCATION   IN  CARLOW  44$ 

schoolmaster  does  the  Carlow  man  little  good,  and  will 
only  teach  him  whatever  will  not  in  the  slightest  degree 
tend  to  emancipate  him  from  the  fog  of  dogmatic 
rhetoric,  which  is  ringing  in  his  ears  during  his  entire 
life.  For  the  priest  has  got  himself  into  the  school, 
and,  under  the  sanction  of  our  Government,  is  the 
schoolmaster's  master  !  The  most  stupid  and  hopeless 
people  in  Ireland,  more  incorrigible  than  illiterates, 
are  to  be  found  amongst  those  who  have  been  to  the 
priests'  National  School,  and  can  read  and  write. 

The  mischievous  activity  of  the  priests  in  reviving 
the  teaching  of  Irish  in  the  national  schools  is  a 
grave  abuse  of  their  position ;  especially  in  Carlow, 
where  there  is  not  a  single  person  in  the  county 
who  speaks  Irish  exclusively,  and  where,  out  of  the 
entire  population  of  37,748,  only  123  are  able  to  speak 
a  smattering  of  Irish,  using  English  for  all  prac- 
tical purposes.  The  so-called  '■  superior  "  education  of 
the  county  is  entirely  sacerdotal;  it  consists  of  the 
Ecclesiastical  College,  St.  Patrick's  College  in  Carlow 
town,  at  which  there  are  131  resident  students,  123, 
as  we  have  seen,  being  theological ;  a  school  under 
a  religious  order  at  Tullow,  St.  Patrick's  Seminary,  at 
which  there  are  44  students  receiving  a  "  superior " 
education ;  a  Christian  Brothers'  school  at  Carlow,  at 
which  there  are  247  students,  of  whom  58  get  a 
"  superior  "  education  ;  and  a  monastic  school  at  Bage- 
nalstown,  at  which  there  are  1 8  students. 

Thus  we  see  that  of  the  251  Catholic  youths  receiving 
a  "  superior "  education  in  the  county  of  Carlow,  the 
priests  have  clanned  123  for  their  own  profession — a 
large  sacrifice  of  national  ability  on  the  altar  of  sacer- 
dotalism !  There  is  a  convent  school  at  Carlow,  at 
which  there  are  32  girls,  and  a  convent  school  at 
Tullow,  at  which  there  are  80  girls,  receiving  "  superior  " 

2  F 


450  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

education,  so  called,  that  is  to  say,  112  girls  of  the  better 
class  at  the  nuns'  schools,  while  there  are  143  nuns! 

If  the  Carlow  people  hold  a  political  meeting  under 
the  auspices  of  the  United  Irish  League,  the  priest  will 
carry  otf  the  lion's  share  of  the  glory.  Next  day  the 
public  will  be  informed : — 

"The  Rev.  Paul  Murphy,  C.C.,  presided,  and  made  a 
series  of  speeches  in  introducing  the  different  speakers 
to  the  audience.  The  rev.  gentleman,  in  the  course  of 
his  remarks,  reached  that  high  pitch  of  eloquence  and 
explanatory  power  for  which  he  is  famous,  and  left 
nothing:  unsaid  as  regards  either  the  introduction  of 
the  various  speakers,  or  as  to  the  lucid  explanation  01 
the  principles  governing  the  United  Irish  League.  To- 
wards the  close  of  the  meeting  the  rev.  gentleman,  in 
a  magnificent  peroration,  exhorted  his  hearers  to  give 
their  support  to  the  League  by  handing  in  their  sub- 
scriptions and  joining  its  ranks.  He  said  he  would  be 
the  first  to  set  example  by  giving  his  subscription."  ^ 

Thus  Father  Paul  Murphy  will  play  upon  the  string 
of  patriotism,  and  win  popularity  for  the  priests  in 
Carlow  on  5th  January  1902.  But  Bishop  Foley,  mind- 
ful of  the  expectations  which  the  priests  always  have 
from  the  British  Government,  will,  in  the  following 
words,  strike  an  indirect,  and,  as  he  well  knows,  a  futile, 
blow  at  the  United  Irish  League  in  his  pastoral  pub- 
lished at  Carlow  on  1 6th  February  following.  Referring 
to  the  "  plan  of  campaign,"  he  will  say : — 

"  We  remember  what  was  the  result  of  the  use  which 
was  made  of  illegitimate  methods  in  the  past  The}' 
were  singled  out  for  special  condemnation  by  the  Holy 
See.  It  is  no  wonder  that  not  alone  clergymen,  but 
many  others,  who  have  been  taught  by  the  experience 
of  the  past,  hesitate  about  having  any  part  in  a  move- 
ment,  some   of  whose   promoters  do   not  scruple   to 

^  Freeman's  Journal,  January  10,  1902. 


SACERDOTAL   TRIMMING  451 

recommend  from  public  platforms  the  very  practice 
which  was  condemned  a  few  years  ago  as  contrary  to 
all  justice  and  charity."^ 

I  have  heard  strong  comments  passed  upon  the  in- 
sincerity of  great  families  in  olden  and  disturbed  times, 
who  always  managed  to  have  at  least  one  member  in 
every  political  party  of  the  day.  But  what  is  it  com- 
pared with  the  trimming  of  the  priests  in  Ireland,  who, 
when  the  Catholic  people  and  the  Government  were 
at  daggers  drawn,  have  always  managed  to  pander  to 
the  prejudices  of  both  Government  and  people  ? 

Bishop  Foley,  of  Kildare  and  Leighlin,  is  the  Chair- 
man of  the  county  CarloAv  Agricultural  and  Technical 
Instruction  Committee ;  and  Monsignor  Burke,  P.P., 
V.F.;  Father  Coyle,  P.P.;  Rev.  Joseph  Kearney,  Adm., 
Tullow ;  and  other  priests  are  members  of  it,  dispensing 
public  money  and  patronage.  Bishop  Foley,  like  all 
his  brethren,  is  terrified  by  the  diminishing  numbers 
of  the  Irish  Catholic  laity.  He  adjures  the  young 
people  of  Carlow  and  Kildare  to  stay  at  home  and 
appreciate  the  sacerdotalism  from  which  they  are 
flying.  "  How  many  men  and  women  of  Irish  blood," 
he  exclaims,^  "  may  be  found  at  this  moment  in  the 
slums  of  London  and  New  York,  leading  lives  of  in- 
describable degradation,  and  how  many  of  them  die 
like  animals  in  their  dens  of  infamy — poor  creatures 
Avho  have  no  wish  whatever  to  see  a  priest,  or  to  profit 
by  the  ministrations  of  the  Church  of  their  baptism  ? " 

What  a  coward-manufacturing  creed  •  It  helps  to 
explain  why  the  priest's  Irishman  is  out  of  touch  with 
all  that  is  good,  progressive,  and  true  in  North  Europe 
and  North  America.  What  could  be  worse  statesman- 
ship than  to  endow  its  preachers  with  public  money 
and  secular  power  ? 

*  Freeman's  Journal,  February  17,  1902.  -  Ibid. 


CHAPTER    XXIV 

IN    THE    COUNTY    OF   WEXFORD 

The  county  of  Wexford  is  only  separated  by  a  narrow 
channel  from  Pembrokeshire  in  Wales.  It  possesses 
all  the  advantages  of  situation  in  the  south  which 
Antrim  possesses  in  the  north,  and  its  soil  is  more 
fertile.  If  Wexford  is  not  able  to  take  advantage  of 
its  opportunities,  its  inhabitants  have  only  to  blame 
the  universal  cause  which  blights  the  prospects  of  all 
Catholic  Ireland. 

"  And  many  a  voice  was  singing 
Along  the  summer  vale, 
And  Wexford  town  was  ringing 
With  shouts  of  Gi-anua  Ail ! " 

The  population  contains  a  large  infusion  of  English 
blood ;  for  the  Cromwellian  troopers,  who  were  settled 
in  the  rich  lands  of  the  barony  of  Forth,  married 
Irish  wives. 

"  I  would  not  give  my  Irish  wife 

For  all  the  dames  of  the  Saxon  land  ; 
I  would  not  give  my  Irish  wife 
For  the  Queen  of  France's  hand."  * 

There  are  only  8574  members  of  the  Reformed 
Churches  in  Wexford,  as  against  98,284  Catholics.  Let 
us  raise  the  curtain,  and  peep  for  a  moment  at  the 

1  Thomas  D'Arcy  M'Gee,  of  Carlingford,  in  the  Meigh  district,  born 
1825,  connected  with  the  "  rising  "  of  1848  ;  fled  to  America,  and  after- 
wards prosperously  settled  in  Montreal.  Opposed  to  the  Fenian 
"  rising"  of  1867,  and  was  murdered  in  1868. 

452 


A  GOREY  "SHOW"  453 

everyday  public  life  and  enjoyments  of  the  people 
of  this  county.  It  contains  four  important  towns — 
Wexford(i  i,545),Enniscorthy(5648),  New  Ross  (5 847), 
and  Gorey  (2213),  each  of  which  is  the  headquarters 
of  a  Poor  Law  Union  and  District  Council.  The  Gorey 
Guardians  are  assembled  in  meeting. 

The  most  important  business  of  the  day  is  connected 
with  the  introduction  of  nuns  as  nurses  into  the  Union 
Workhouse.  The  nuns  had  insisted  upon  having  a  pri- 
vate carriage,  and  the  Board  had  proceeded  to  purchase 
one,  whereupon  the  Local  Government  Board  objected. 
The  guardians  and  the  nuns  persisted,  and  the  Local 
Government  Board  now  climbs  down,  and  consents  to 
the  purchase  of  the  carriage,  in  a  letter  Avhich  is  read 
to-day,  accepting  the  fictitious  plea  that  the  carriage  is 
to  be  used  for  general  purposes ;  which  is,  of  course, 
nonsense,  as,  if  it  had  been  necessary  for  general  pur- 
poses, it  would  have  been  purchased  before.  Having 
read  the  consent  of  the  Local  Government  Board,  Sir 
Thomas  Esmonde,  M.P.,  the  chairman,  thus  delivers 
himself: — 

"  On  receiving  that  letter  I  went  down  to  Mr.  Bates, 
partly  to  congratulate  him  on  his  new  show — and  I 
hope  every  member  of  the  Board  will  go  to  see  it — and 
he  showed  me  a  newly  painted  carriage,  which  he  oft'ers 
to  us  for  ^32,  and  which  I  consider  very  good  value. 
1  presume  the  next  thing  we  have  to  do  is  to  issue 
advertisements." 

Clerk — "  It  is  not  necessary,  sir  ;  it  has  already  been 
advertised." 

Chairman — "  Then  I  presume  we  can  purchase  this 
carriage  from  Mr.  Bates." 

Clerk — "You  can  accept  their  tender." 

Messrs.  Bates  &  Sons  tendered  to  supply  a  circular 
fronted  brougham  to  seat  four  inside,  newly  uphol- 
stered  inside,   painted,   and   in    tirst-class   order,    with 


454  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

lamps  and  all  complete.  Price,  £"^2.  The  tender  was 
unanimously  accepted.  Mr.  J.  D,  Doyle  called  atten- 
tion to  the  harness.  The  Master  said  they  had  no 
carriage  harness.  The  Clerk  said  the  necessary  harness 
could  be  procured  "  in  a  week  or  so." 

Chairman — "  There  is  nothing  more  to  be  done  now 
with  regard  to  the  introduction  of  the  nuns,  except  to 
congratulate  ourselves  upon  the  results  of  our  efforts. 
We  had  to  wriggle  through  a  network  of  red-tape 
before  arriving  at  this  satisfactory  result,  and  I  iliink 
this  Board  has  justified  its  existence  in  bringing  about 
an  improvement  in  the  condition  of  the  sick  poor  in 
the  workhouse.  I  am  sorry  I  can't  be  here  when  the 
nuns  come,  and  I  shan't  be  able  to  welcome  them  when 
they  come,  but  I  have  no  doubt  the  other  members  of 
the  Board  will  do  so  for  me."  Mr.  J.  D.  Doyle  said 
"The  committee  examined  the  furniture  sent  up  for 
inspection.  They  rejected  the  mahogany  chairs  be- 
cause they  were  not  mahogany;  also  an  easy-chair 
and  a  glass  case.  They  accepted  five  Windsor  chairs 
and  some  other  articles."  ^ 

A  circular-fronted  brougham  for  the  nuns  !  Silver- 
mounted  harness  for  the  nuns  !  Rubber  tyres  for  the 
nuns  !  Mahogany  furniture,  real  Domingo  mahogany  ; 
no  stained  wood  will  do  for  the  nuns  !  After  such  an 
achievement,  the  Gorey  Board  "  has  justified  its  exist- 
ence ! "  On  the  facts  stated,  which  apply  to  almost 
every  similar  Board  in  Catholic  Ireland,  I  believe  that 
at  no  remote  period,  unless  Irish  public  opinion  takes  a 
healthier  trend,  the  Poor  Law  Union  Workhouses  will 
become  religious  institutions,  managed  at  a  profit,  like 
the  national  and  industrial  schools  and  reformatories. 
Either  secular  priests  or  some  of  the  Orders,  like  the 
Augustinians  or  Franciscans,  will  supply  the  Master 
and  intern  oflScials  of  the  workhouse ;  while  the  orders 
of  nuns  will   fill  the  female  posts,  getting  the  actual 

'  Eimiiscorthy  Guardian,  January  18,  1902. 


A  WEXFORD   PICTURE  455 

work  done  free  by  pauper  labour ;  as  they  get  it  done 
at  present  wherever  they  can.  The  Jesuit  Order  would 
no  doubt,  under  such  a  regime,  make  good  their  claim 
to  a  monopoly  of  the  office  of  Clerk  of  the  Union  all 
over  Ireland. 

The  Board  of  Guardians  in  the  town  of  Wexford 
hold  a  meeting,  and  we  find  the  most  important 
subject  before  them  also  is  a  religious  one — whether 
they  should  send  the  pauper  children  out  of  the  house 
to  be  boarded  and  trained  by  the  Wexford  Sisters  of 
Mercy,^  at  a  fee. 

A  letter  is  read  from  the  Superioress  of  the  Wexford 
Convent  of  Mercy,  as  follows  : — "  I  beg  to  say  that  as 
the  children  in  question  will  be  helping  at  laundry, 
cookery,  &c.  &c.,  and  thereby  contributing  towards 
their  own  support,  we  shall  admit  them  at  £<^  per 
head  per  annum.  We  would  ask  to  be  allowed  to 
supply  our  own  uniform,  and  an  allowance  to  be  made 
for  each  child's  clothing  when  coming  here." 

The  Clerk  of  the  Union — "  I  made  out  the  average 
cost  of  a  girl  in  the  house  to  be  less  than  £<^  per 
annum." 

The  Convent  of  Mercy  at  Wexford  is  a  profit-making 
institution,  receiving  ;£^2o63  of  public  money  yearly 
for  105  vagrant  children  in  its  industrial  school.  The 
nuns,  in  this  letter,  propose  to  employ  the  poorhouse 
children  at  the  lucrative  employment  of  laundry  and 
"  cookery,  &c.  &c.,"  to  quote  the  Superioress's  expressive 
abbreviations.  They  ask  the  guardians  to  provide  an 
outfit.  They  expect  the  labour  of  the  children  free, 
and,  in  addition,  to  get  a  pension  of  £(^  per  annum  for 
each  child  out  of  the  rates. 

Lady  M.  Fitzgerald — "  I  think  it  is  a  most  admirable 
proposition." 

'  ^ret  Press,  January  19,  1902. 


456  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

Mr.  Codd — "  /  do  not  think  it  would  he  any  iTniJrove- 
ment  to  the  children  whatever  to  send  them  up  there." 

Mr.  John  Lambert  said — "  He  was  opposed  to  sending 
the  children  to  the  convent,  and  any  one  who  had  any 
experience  of  the  children  trained  there  ivould  not  he  in 
favour  of  the  jyroiDosition.  He  asked  Mr.  Ennis  if  he 
had  had  any  servant  from  the  Convent  of  Mercy  ?  If 
you  get  one,  do  not  let  her  see  the  moon,  or  she  will 
want  to  get  it."     (Laughter.) 

Lady  M.  Fitzgerald — "I  had  often  girls  from  the 
Convent  of  Mercy,  and  I  found  them  most  satis- 
factory." 

Mr.  John  Lambert  said — "  He  was  satisfied  to  send 
the  children  outside  to  board  with  private  people,  but 
he  objected  to  sending  them  to  the  Sisters.  The  Convent 
of  Mercy  was  the  means  of  taking  work  out  of  the 
hands  of  many  honest  labouring  families  in  Wexford. 
Why  should  these  workhouse  children  be  trained  up 
for  fine  situations  ?  There  should  be  some  one  to  do 
the  rough  work,  and  why  should  they  not  do  it  ? " 

Mr.  Lambert  went  on  to  say — "  There  was  no  reason 
why  they  should  not  fill  humble  positions.  The  Con- 
vent of  Mercy  had  "put  as  many  people  out  of  work 
as  they  had  in  the  House  of  Mercy  at  present,  and  the 
people  that  formerly  did  the  laundry  work  were  the 
most  useful  members  of  the  community." 

There  are  not  many  Lady  M.  Fitzgeralds  in  the 
country,  having  "  fine  situations  " ;  while  there  are 
thousands  of  Mr,  Lamberts,  who  want  work  done  in 
situations  which  are  not  "  fine,"  but  are,  at  least,  re- 
spectable. The  Lady  Fitzgeralds,  surrounded  by  their 
fine  menials,  find  it  enjoyable — I  say  it  with  due  re- 
spect— to  dabble  in  philanthropy,  but  I  have  well- 
grounded  reason  for  warning  such  ladies  that  such 
philanthropy  is  no  better  than  misanthropy. 

Mr.  John  Lambert — "  I  had  one  of  the  convent  girls 
minding   a   child   at   the   fire,   and  she  never  let  the 


PAUPERS   DISTRUST  THE   NUNS        457 

child  get  burned.  Right  enough  ;  she  was  too  near  the 
tire  herself  for  that — (laughter) — and  she  always  wore 
gloves  for  fear  the  coal  would  ruttie  the  skin  of  her 
hands.  (Laughter.)  At  present  we  are  boarding  out 
the  children,  and  I  think  that  the  system  is  working 
very  well.  I  give  the  convent  no  credit  at  all,  except 
for  their  religious  instruction." 

The  resolution  was  passed,  adopting  the  terms  of  the 
House  of  Mercy,  Mr.  Lambert  and  Mr.  Codd  objecting. 

Well  done,  Messrs.  Codd  and  Lambert !  Better  for 
Ireland,  in  her  present  circumstances,  to  possess  two 
such  men  as  you,  than  all  the  other  men  and  women 
who  were  present  at  that  meeting.  Better  for  an 
English  statesman  to  follow  the  advice  of  two  such 
men  as  you,  than  that  of  the  majority  by  whom  you 
were  voted  down. 

It  is  the  poor,  perhaps,  who  best  know  what  this 
excessive  religiosity  really  means ;  for  they  are  the 
foundation  on  which  it  professes  to  rest.  And  the 
poor  realise  how  little  they  gain  by  it.  For  instance, 
the  foregoing  resolution,  it  is  stated,  is  to  apply  to 
"  orphans  only,"  and  the  master  of  the  workhouse  gave 
the  reason  during  the  discussion.  He  said :  "  There 
are  two  or  three  girls  in  the  house  over  twelve  years  of 
age,  but  their  parents  (paupers)  are  here  also,  and  they 
will  not  consent  to  the  children  being  sent  out  of  the 
house." 

Not  even  to  the  Convent  of  Mercy !  No ;  rather 
anywhere  than  there.  Anywhere  else  there  would  be 
some  expectations,  perhaps,  from  the  children;  but, 
once  within  the  portals  of  the  House  of  Mercy,  no 
living  person,  save  the  owners  of  that  institution,  can 
hope  to  benefit  by  the  labour  of  those  children. 

As  an  instance  of  the  intellectual  instruction  pur- 
veyed by  priests  in  county  Wexford,  let  us  spend  a 


458  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

little  time  at  a  meeting  of  the  New  Ross  Gaelic 
League.^  The  chair  is  occupied  by  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Quigley,  C.C.  "  The  Rev,  Chairman  explained  very 
fully  and  forcibly,"  we  are  told,  "  the  necessity  that 
existed,  not  only  in  New  Ross,  but  elsewhere,  for  the 
young  men  of  Ireland  knowing  more  of  their  country's 
sad  but  honourable  history.  He  referred  to  the  patriotic 
and  brilliant  intellects  that  Ireland  could  boast  of  in 
the  past."  At  the  desire  of  the  meeting  Father 
Cowman  delivered  "  a  stirring  address  on  the  early 
glory  of  Ireland." 

The  national  song  of  Ireland,  at  present,  is  the  "  Boys 
of  Wexford,"  an  old  Irish  air,  the  words  to  which  were 
written  by  a  Dr.  Robert  Dwyer  Joyce,  a  Limerick  poet 
and  physician,  born  in  1830,  who  died  in  1883,  having 
spent  a  large  portion  of  his  life  in  America.  The  first 
verse  represents  the  daughter  of  "  the  captain  of  the 
Yeos"  (the  English  Yeomanry)  soliciting  a  United 
Irishman  to  let  her  fly  with  him,  dressed  in  man's 
attire,  to  "  fight  for  libertie."  She  offers  him  a 
thousand  pounds.  It  is  a  curious  trait  of  Irish 
popular  love-songs  that  the  girl  is  invariably  rich, 
and  gives  money  freely  to  the  boy.  The  third  verse 
runs  thus : — 

"We  bravely  fought  and  conquered 
At  Eoss  and  Wexford  town  ; 
And,  if  we  failed  to  keep  tlieiii, 
'Twas  drink  that  brought  us  down. 
We  had  no  drink  beside  us 
On  Tubber'neering's  Day, 
Depending  on  the  long,  bright  pike, 
And  well  it  worked  its  way  ! 
We  are  the  Boys  of  Wexibrd, 
Who  fought  with  heurt  and  hand 
To  burst  in  twain  the  galling  chain, 
And  free  our  native  land." 

^  Free  Press,  January  17,  1902. 


THE  BOYS   OF  WEXFORD  459 

The  fourth  verse  harps  upon  the  same  theme,  as- 
signing drunkenness  again  as  an  excuse  for  faikire, 
one  of  the  most  favourite  and  widespread  apologies 
advanced  in  Ireland  for  duties  unfulfilled  : — 

"  They  came  into  the  country 
Our  blood  to  waste  and  spill ; 
But  let  them  weep  for  Wexford, 
And  think  of  Oulart  Hill  ! 
'Twas  drink  that  still  betrayed  lis, 
Although  we  had  no  fear 
For  every  man  to  do  his  part, 
Like  Forth  and  Shelmalier." 

It  reminds  one  of  the  ex-Boer  officer,  Colonel  Lynch's 
alleged  statement  to  a  press  correspondent  in  Paris. 
His  reason,  we  were  told,  for  hesitating  to  come  to 
London  to  take  his  seat,  as  member  for  Galway,  was, 
not  because  he  knew  there  were  detectives  waiting 
to  arrest  him  at  Dover,  Folkestone,  Newhaven,  and 
every  other  port  on  the  south  coast,  but  because  his 
doing  so  "  would  look  like  setting  the  British  Govern- 
ment at  defiance,"  and  he  did  not  Avish  his  acts  to  have 
the  appearance  of  that.  The  boys  of  Wexford  could 
have  conquered,  but  they  did  not  like  to  set  "  the  drink  " 
at  defiance !     They  felt  they  had  better  not. 

Let  us  now  flit  over  the  Wexford  border  to  historic 
Glendalough,  where  the  holy  St.  Kevin  used  to  wander 
with  King  O'Toole,  lending  the  king  tobacco,  borrowing 
O'Toole's  dudhecn,  and  curing  his  ganders. 

Mr.  Cogan,  M.P.,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Gaelic  League 
at  Glendalough,^  laments  that  "  though  we  preserved 
our  faith,  we  lost  our  language " ;  and  he  is  reported 
as  having  gone  on  to  say : — 

"  One  of  the  greatest  benefits  you  will  derive  from 
the  study  of  the  Irish  language,  is  that  it  will  help  to 

^  Free  Press,  January  17,  1902. 


46o  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

prevent  your  reading  those  sickly  sentimental  and 
trashy  booklets  of  literature,  called  novels,  which  are 
coming  into  this  country  in  shiploads.  To  counteract 
the  tendency  to  read  such  vicious  trash,  I  would  advise 
you  to  read  here  in  class  such  sterling  writings  as  those 
of  Speranza  ^  or  Davis,  or  the  brilliant  writers  of  the 
'  'forty-eight '  period.  You  should  all  have  Davis's 
prose  works,  which,  though  prose,  are  as  beautiful  as 
poetry." 

In  another  column  of  the  same  paper,  a  quotation 
from  one  of  Davis's  works  is  given ;  it  is  in  praise  of 
the  Wexford  insurgents  : — 

"  Great  hearts !  how  faithful  ye  are  !  How  ye  bristled 
up  when  the  foe  came  on,  how  ye  set  your  teeth  to  die 
as  his  shells  and  round  shot  fell  steadily  ;  and,  with  how 
firm  a  cheer  ye  dashed  at  him,  if  he  gave  you  any 
chance  at  all  of  a  grapple.  From  the  wild  burst  with 
which  ye  triumphed  at  Oulart  Hill,  down  to  the  faint 
gasp  wherewith  the  last  of  your  last  column  died  in  the 
cornfields  of  Meath,  there  is  nothing  to  shame  your 
valour." 

Davis's  eulogy  does  not  tally  with  Dr.  Joyce's  record 
of  the  shortcomings  of  the  Wexford  insurgents  in  the 
"  Boys  of  Wexford."  If  I  might  be  permitted  to  give  a 
word  of  advice  to  the  Catholic  young  men  of  Wexford, 
I  should  advise  them  to  emulate  the  example  of  such 
men,  for  instance,  as  Mr.  Pierce  of  Wexford,  the  famous 
agricultural  implement-maker,  whose  Wexford-made 
goods  are  able  to  compete  successfully  with  American 
and  British  goods,  and  who  owes  everything  he  possesses 
to  his  own  enterprise  and  energy ;  and  I  should  humbly 
recommend  them  to  forget  all  about  'ninety-eight,  and 
give  up  apologising  for  their  failures  at  that  disturbed 
period  of  Irish  history. 

1  Nom  de  plume  adopted  by  Lady  Wilde,  wife  and  widow  of  the  late 
Sir  William  Wilde  of  Dublin,  ophthalmic  surgeon  and  author. 


TEARS  AND   HEART-THROBS  461 

Let  us  now  keep  company  for  a  little  while  with  the 
Christian  Brothers  at  Gorey,  who  are  providing  what 
they  call "  a  grand  Ceilidh  "  ^  for  the  townspeople,  which 
lasts  two  nights.  The  proceeds  of  the  entertainment 
are  to  go  to  the  Christian  Brothers  themselves.  "  Their 
difficulties,"  we  are  told,  "  were  enormous."  The  Rev. 
Brother  Clancy  "  had  complete  charge  of  the  stage 
arrangements."  The  Gorey  Gaelic  League  appeared  in 
'■  soft  graceful  costumes,"  and  sang  "  Erin,  the  Tear  and 
the  Smile  in  thine  Eyes."  Mr.  Michael  O'Sullivan  sang 
'•  Shule  Agra,"  during  the  singing  of  which,  we  are  told, 
"  the  audience  controlled  their  enthusiasm  in  order  not 
to  miss  hearing  the  pure,  rich  notes."  Most  of  our  Irish 
songs  are  idiotically  lachrymose,  "  Shule  Aroon,"  for 
instance : — 

"  J  would  I  were  on  yonder  hill, 
'Tis  there  I'd  sit  and  cry  my  fill, 
And  every  tear  would  turn  a  mill, 
Is  go  d-teidh  tu,  a  mhuirnin  !  Slan." 

Miss  Olive  Barry  sang,  in  Irish,  "  Savourneen  Deelish," 
and,  "  in  reply  to  an  aris,  recited  with  impassioned  feel- 
ing '  The  Saxon  Shilling,'  which  made  hearts  throb  with 
indignation  at  the  dishonour  of  Irish  lads  joining  the 
ranks  of  the  English  tyrant,"  and,  "  at  the  conclusion, 
the  joy  evoked  was  translated  into  an  appreciative  aris." 
Brother  Crane  returned  thanks,  and  the  first  night's 
proceedings  wound  up  with  the  "  National  Anthem," 
which  means  either  Joyce's  "  Boys  of  Wexford,"  or  T.  D. 
Sullivan's  "  God  Save  Ireland,"  or  Moore's  "  Patrick's 
Day." 

The  Newtownbarry  Dramatic  Class,  in  another  part 
of  the  county,  at  the  same  time,  gives  a  dramatic 
entertainment  in  the  National    School,  in  which  the 

'  Free  Press,  January  17,  1902. 


462  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

girls'  parts  are  played  by  young  men.  Between  tlie 
acts,  such  songs  as  "  Shule  Agra  "  and  "  Colleen  Dass 
Croothen  Na  Mo  "  are  sung  : — 

"  He  kissed  her  soft  hand  ;  '  What  above  thee 
Could  Heaven  in  its  bounty  bestow  ? ' 
He  kissed  her  soft  cheek  ;  'Ah,  I  love  thee  ! 
Mo  Colleen  Dass  Croothen  IS! a  Mo.' " 

As  at  Gorey,  the  theatricals  were  continued  over  two 
evenings.  This  species  of  dramatic  entertainment 
always  constitutes  the  leading  feature,  on  show  days, 
at  all  the  priests'  and  nuns'  schools  throughout  Catholic 
Ireland ;  and  the  practice  tends  to  perpetuate  the 
play-actor  peculiarities  of  Irishmen  in  their  everyday 
life.  They  are  always  acting  a  part,  in  imagination  ;  but 
it  is  to  be  noted  that  few,  if  any,  of  our  countrymen 
ever  attain  eminence  in  the  theatrical  profession  as  real 
actors,  while  men  and  women  of  almost  every  other 
nationality  achieve  fame  and  fortune  on  the  stage. 

There  is  a  magnificent  lunatic  asylum  in  county 
Wexford,  on  the  high  ground  over  the  banks  of  the 
Slaney,  near  Enniscorthy.  When  the  train  bursts  out 
of  the  tunnel  close  to  that  town — made  famous  by 
the  occurrences  at  Vinegar  Hill  in  'ninety-eight — the 
traveller  is  confronted  by  the  imposing  facade  of  the 
Enniscorthy  Lunatic  Asylum.  It  is  so  grand,  and  so 
grandly  situated,  that,  in  gazing  at  it,  I  have  often 
been  reminded  of  the  imperial  palaces  of  continental 
emperors,  of  which  I  have  seen  photographs.  This 
year  the  annual  asylum  ball  is  "  conducted  on  a  scale 
of  great  splendour,"  and  is  attended  by  an  enormous 
number  of  guests,  sane  Wexford  folk  getting  a  little 
amusement  in  return  for  their  taxes.  "  The  ballroom 
is  a  picture  of  beauty,  where  colours  harmonise  most 
pleasingly."  i     It    is    said    that    "  Miss    M.  Kelly,  the 

'  Free  Press,  January  1902. 


A  MINE  IN  THE  ASYLUMS  463 

matron,  was  responsible  for  these  tasteful  and  clever 
specimens  of  Irish  art."  The  attendance  list  is  too 
long  to  give,  but  its  perusal  gives  rise  to  some  reflec- 
tions. The  lunatic  asylums  constitute  a  field  as  yet 
only  partially  exploited  by  the  Irish  priests  and  nuns ; 
though,  at  the  rate  clerical  supremacy  is  advancing, 
we  may  expect  to  see  Orders  of  nuns  and  monks  in- 
stalled in  those  institutions,  taking  the  place  of  mere 
lay  people  like  Miss  Kelly,  at  no  distant  date.  Men 
like  Sir  Thomas  Esmonde,  M.P.,  and  his  Gorey  col- 
leagues will  be  invited  to  co-operate  in  such  a  scheme 
when  the  workhouse  vein  has  been  fully  worked.  What 
a  vision  of  circular-fronted  broughams  and  Domingo 
mahogany  ! 

It  is  not  a  far-fetched  supposition.  Many  of  our 
County  Asylum  Boards  are,  at  present,  presided  over  by 
Catholic  bishops.  There  is  no  branch  of  human  affairs 
in  Catholic  Ireland  into  which,  to  quote  the  words  of 
Schiller,  the  priest  "  iiirf^t  f;iiifoinmt  mit  [etnet  Cual "  (does 
not  come  with  his  torture). 

Let  us  linger  a  while  in  Enniscorthy.  There  is  a 
crowded  audience  assembled  in  the  Athen;^;um.  "  The 
benches  are  packed,  the  passages  are  packed,  the  cor- 
ridors are  besieged — in  fact,  the  hall  Avas  never  perhaps 
so  densely  crowded,  and  the  audience  fully  represents 
the  national  thought  of  the  community."^  They  are 
assembled  to  hear  a  lecture  by  the  Rev.  Father  Murphy, 
M.S.S.  We  are  told  that,  at  this  lecture, "  the  illustra- 
tions Avere  nmsical,  and  included  some  of  the  richest 
gems  in  the  category  of  native  music."  Father 
Murphy  explains  his  object — ^it  is  the  same  as  Father 
Quigley's  at  the  New  Ross  Gaelic  League — in  the  fol- 
lowing words : — 

"The  chief  object  that  we  had  in   view   in   under- 

^  Fret  Press,  January  17,  1902. 


464  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

taking  this  labour  of  love  was  to  make  Irish  history- 
familiar  to  your  minds,  pleasant  to  your  wishes,  and 
dear  to  your  hearts  " — history  made  to  order — "  and  in 
order  to  carry  out  these  ideas — here  to-night,  and  on 
future  occasions — we  shall  take  you  back  to  the  very 
dawn  of  our  history ;  we  shall  trace  the  coming  of  the 
brown  Phoenicians  and  their  subjugation  by  the  proud 
Milesians ;  we  shall  make  you  familiar  with  that  period 
of  our  national  existence  when  the  world  knew  Ireland 
as  the  land  of  saints  and  scholars — Insula  Sanctorum 
et  DoctoruTYi ;  we  shall  follow  the  incursions  of  the 
Danes  and  their  signal  defeat  at  Clontarf;  we  shall 
recall  to  your  minds  the  events  that  led  to  the  sub- 
jugation of  Ireland  by  the  iron-handed  Normans  and 
the  Saxons  in  their  train ;  in  a  word,  we  shall  lecture 
on  pagan  Ireland,  on  Christian  Ireland,  on  unconquer- 
able and  ungovernable  Ireland,  and  on  the  Anglicised 
Ireland  of  to-day."     (Applause.) 

Father  Murphy  wound  up  the  first  section  of  his 
lecture  with  the  following  apothegm :  "  The  Cosmo- 
polite is  unnatural,  base ;  I  would  fain  say  impossible. 
Patriotism  is  human  philanthropy  " — a  quotation  from 
Thomas  Davis,  one  of  many  Protestants  whom  the 
Father  Murphys  of  Ireland  admiringly  quote,  while  they 
coerce  the  Catholic  to  give  up  all  social  intercourse  with 
Davis's  co-religionists  of  to-day.^ 

"  To  illustrate  that  specimen  of  humanity,"  exclaims 
Father  Murphy,  "  I  shall  call  upon  Mr.  O'Sullivan." 

Mr.  Michael  O'Sullivan  then  sang  "  The  Anti-Irish 
Irishman." 

Father  Murphy  waxes  passionately  eloquent ;  he  is 
reported  as  telling  his  hearers  that  "  the  National 
Board   of   Education   have   succeeded    in    making    us 

1  Died  in  1845,  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-one;  a  graduate  of  Trinity 
College,  and  a  barrister  who  did  not  practise.  It  was  written  of  him  : 
"  If  we  pass  by  the  errors  of  a  wrongly-chosen  cause,  he  was  entitled 
truly  to  the  noble  name  of  patriot." 


BEGGARS   EVERYWHERE  465 

slaves  at  home,  and  beggars  all  the  world  over."  The 
position  of  the  Irish  Catholic  could  not  be  more  accur- 
ately described,  nor  by  a  better  authority.  But  it  must 
be  evident  to  all  thinking  men  that  the  humiliating 
position  of  Catholic  Irishmen,  so  far  as  it  is  due  to 
the  national  education  system,  is  the  baneful  conse- 
quence of  the  policy  which  has  placed  the  manage- 
ment and  control  of  the  system  in  the  hands  of  the 
priests  of  Ireland,  who  are  the  most  flourishing 
professional  beggars  in  existence,  and  whose  success 
in  that  odious  trade  exalts  mendicancy  on  a  pinnacle 
before  the  youth  of  Ireland  as  a  pursuit  worthy  of 
admiration  and  imitation.  It  may  be  truly  said  of 
Father  Murphy's  plethoric  colleagues  that  they  are 
"  beggars  at  home,  and  beggars  all  the  world  over " ; 
and  that  they  are  slaves  to  Rome  and  to  the  designing 
ecclesiastical  corporations  who  rear  their  heads  aloft, 
like  giant  weeds,  in  that  unfortunate  city ;  but  whose 
roots  are  fed  with  nutriment  sucked  from  the  souls  and 
bodies  of  the  "  slaves  and  beggars  "  of  Catholic  Ireland. 
The  priests  in  Wexford,  as  elsewhere,  weave  their 
hypnotising  spells  on  every  possible  pretext.  For 
them,  time  passes  in  one  continual  round  of  Requiems, 
Months'  Minds,  Anniversaries,  Golden  Jubilees,  and 
Saints'  Festivals,  followed  by  banquetings  in  private, 
from  one  end  of  the  year  to  the  other.  Take  the 
following  demonstration — a  very  commonplace  one — 
for  instance,  reported  in  the  Enniscorthy  Guardian 
of  January  18,  1902: — 

"The  Month's  Mind,  Office,  and  High  Mass  for  the 
repose  of  the  late  Very  Rev.  S.  B.  Hore,  O.S.F.,  Wex- 
ford, was  held  in  the  Franciscan  Church,  Wexford,  on 
Wednesday,  at  1 1  o'clock.  The  Most  Rev.  Lord  Bishop 
of  Ferns  presided  at  the  High  Mass,  the  Very  Rev.  J.  J. 
Roche,  O.S.F.,  was  celebrant ;  Rev.  P.  F.  Begg,  O.S.F , 

2  G 


466  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

deacon;  Rev.  T.  Y.  O'Grady,  O.S.F.,  sub-deacon;  Very 
Rev.    P.    D.    Kehoe,    O.S.F.,    master    of    ceremonies; 
chanters,  Revs.  P.  A.   Corish,  O.S.F.,  Clonmel,''and  J. 
F.    Han  way,   O.S.F.,    Waterford.     In    the   choir :  Very 
Revs.  C.  F.  Begley,  O.S.F.,  Waterford;  G.  P.  Doggette, 
O.S.F.,  Drogheda:  P.  F.  Chambers,  O.S.F.,  Cork:  T.  W. 
O'Reilly,  O.S.F.,  Dublin;  Very  Rev.  Johnj Crane,  O.S.A., 
Clonmines ;  Rev.  James  F.  Thompson,  O.S.A.,  do. ;  Ven. 
Archdeacon    Furlong,    D.D.,   V.F.,   Gorey ;    Very    Rev. 
Canon    Furlong,    P.P.,    V.F.,    Taghmon ;    Very    Rev. 
Canon  Whitty,  P.P.,  Lady's  Island ;  Very  Rev.  Canon 
O'Gorman,  P.P.,  Kilmore ;  Very  Rev.  Canon   O'Brien, 
P.P.,  Newbawn;  Very  Rev.  Canon  O'Neill,  P.P.,  Kilan- 
erin;    Very    Rev.    Canon    Cloney,    P.P.,  Castlebridge ; 
Very   Rev.  Canon   Sheil,  P.P.,  Bree ;  Very   Rev.  J.'  F. 
Canon    Doyle,   P.P.,    Ferns ;     Very    Rev.    J.    Lennon, 
Superior,  M.S.S.,  Enniscorthy ;  Very  Rev.  Canon  Doyle, 
P.P.,  Tagoat;  Very  Rev.  N.  T.  Sheridan,  President,  St. 
Peter's  College;  and  the  Reverends  Thomas  Meehan, 
P.P.,  Ballindaggin ;  M.  O'Sullivan,  P.P.,  Bannow ;  Wm. 
Fortune,    P.P.,  Piercestown ;    Thomas    O'Connor,    P.P., 
Tintern;  J.  Walsh,  P.P.,  Ballymurrm;  J.  Walsh,  P.P., 
Oylegate ;  John  Corish,  P.P.,  Ballymore ;  James  Murphy, 
P.P.,  Cranford ;   E.  Aylward,  P.P.,  Blackwater ;   James 
Ryan,    P.P.,    Monageer;    John    Lyng,    P.P.,    Clongeen; 
D.  W.  Redmond,  P.P.,  Glynn:  P.  Doyle,  Adm.,  Wex- 
ford ;  P.  O'Connor,  C.C,  do. ;  M.  C.  Hayden,  C.C,  do. ; 
J.  Hartley,  C.C,  Barntown;  Wm.  Hanton,  C.C.,  Murrin- 
town ;  J.  Forrestal,  C.C,  Kilrane ;  D.  Lyne,  C.C,  Castle- 
bridge:   J.    Murphy,    C.C,    Cairn;    D.    Murphy,    C.C, 
Clearystown;  P.  King,  S.P.C ;  T.  Scallan,  C.C,  Bally- 
mitty ;    J.    W.    O'Byrne,    C.C,   Wexford ;    J.    Rossiter, 
M.S.S.,   Enniscorthy ;   A.   Hickey,   C.C,   Coolfancy ;   P. 
Sinnott,  C.C,  Caroreigh :  T.  Cloney,  C.C,  Wexford ;  M. 
O'Byrne,  C.C,  do.;  T.  M.  Ryan,  C.C,  Galbally;  B.  J. 
J]nnis,  C.C ;  A.  O'Brien,  C.C,  Tomacork ;  J.  O'Connor, 
CL.C ;  A.  Forrestal,  C.C,  Blackwater ;  P.  Parker,  C.C, 
Adamstown  ;  N.  Codd,  C.C,  Enniscorthy ;  P.  F.  Kehoe, 
C.C,  The  Moor;  0.  Kehoe,  Camolin;   J.   F.  Kennedy, 
C.C,  Wexford;  J.  Rowe,  CO.,  Kilmore;  T.  Roche,  C.C 


Atidreivg  &  Stm 


The  Late  Rev.  S.  B.  Hore,  O.S.F. 


07)6  of  the  Irish  "  sons  of  the  seraphic  patriarch  "  (p.  347). 
"Fatlier  Hore's  portrait  is  published  in  all  the  local  jmpers,  as  a  souvenir  fnr 
the  people  of  Wexford,  and  as  an  object  of  reverence  and  respect." 


A  WEXFORD   FRANCISCAN  467 

Bannow;  W.  Harpur,  C.C,  Wexford;  P.  Power,  C.C, 
Raheen ;  J.  Quigley,  C.C,  Gorey  ;  J.  Rossiter,  C.C,  Terre- 
rath ;  J.  Furlong,  C.C,  Screen  ;  W.  Kehoe,  C.C,  Rathan- 
gan ;  A.  M'Cormick,  Ferns  ;  T.  Hore,  C.C,  Gusserane." 

What  a  gathering  of  priests  !  How  the  Franciscans, 
Aiigustinians,  and  the  rest  must  have  thronged  the 
narrow  streets  of  Wexford  town  on  that  working-day 
in  the  middle  of  the  working  week  !  Father  Hore's 
portrait  was  published  in  all  the  local  papers  as  a 
souvenir  for  the  people  of  Wexford,  and  as  an  object 
of  reverence  and  respect.  He  appears  to  have  been 
a  "  Soggarth  Aroon  "  in  the  estimation  of  the  Wexford 
people : — 


"  Loyal  and  brave  to  you,  Soggarth  Aroon  ! 
Yet  not  be  slave  to  you,  Soggarth  Aroon  ! 

Nor  out  of  fear  to  you 

Stand  up  so  near  to  you, 
Och  !  out  of  fear  to  you  ?  Soggarth  Aroon  !" 

Father  Hore  may  have  been  a  very  estimable  man ; 
far  be  it  from  me  to  say  anything  against  his  memory ! 
But  I  object  to  making  an  example  of  a  man  of  his 
class  and  type ;  I  object  to  lifting  him  up  as  an  ideal 
for  our  Catholic  youth  to  set  before  their  minds  and 
live  up  to. 

It  need  not  astonish  us  to  find  poor  Catholic  lay- 
folk,  who  cannot  afford  to  pay  for  such  ecclesiastical 
labours  in  memory  of  their  dead  friends  and  relatives, 
thus  bursting  forth  in  the  advertisement  columns  of 
our  Irish  papers : — 

"In  Memoriam.  G — (First  Anniversary) — In  loving 
memory  of  our  dear  mother,  Mrs.  R.  B.  G.,  who  departed 
this  life  on  21st  January  1901,  at  Lower  Mount  Street. 
0  immense  Passion !  0  Profound  Wounds !  0  effusion 
of  blood  !    0  Sweetness  above  all  sweetness !    Grant  her 


468  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

eternal  rest.     Eternal  rest  grant  her,  0  Lord,  and  let 
perpetual  light  shine  upon  her."  ^ 

There  is  no  sadder  spectacle  to  me  in  L-ish  life  than 
that  of  our  weak  women,  influenced  and  overawed  by 
the  performances  of  the  priests  in  memory  of  their  dead 
colleagues.  The  women  feel  that  they  must  give  their 
emotions  vent  also  in  some  melodramatic  form  if  they 
cannot  pay  for  mass ;  and  this  method  of  public 
advertisement  in  the  papers  is  the  means  most  fre- 
quently resorted  to  for  easing  pent-up  feelings,  and 
showing  the  public  that  they  do  not  forget  friends 
who  probably  are  suffering  in  Purgatory  ! 

The  relative  comfort  and  prosperity  of  Wexford 
makes  it  all  the  more  lamentable  that  the  priests 
should  exercise  their  depressing  and  retarding  influence 
over  the  population.  The  list  of  names  just  set  forth, 
of  those  attending  Father  Here's  Month's  Mind,  will 
give  the  reader  a  fair  idea  of  the  importance  of  the 
clerical  class  in  the  county.  Their  patronage  is 
solicited,  and  their  wants  catered  for  by  the  enterpris- 
ing shopkeepers  of  every  denomination  in  the  towns, 
as  evidenced,  for  instance,  by  this  advertisement : — 

"  Enniscorthy  invaded  !  Not  by  a  hostile  foe  !  But 
by  the  largest  consignment  of  Teas  that  has  for  years 
been  landed  under  the  shadow  of  Vinegar  Hill.  P.  B. 
and  Co.,  having  purchased  strictly  for  cash  the  pick  of 
the  London  markets,  they  are  desirous  of  bringing  this 
enormous  purchase  prominently  under  the  notice  of  the 
CLERGY,  gentry,  and  general  public."  ^ 

Thus  we  find  the  clergy  placed  first,  the  gentry 
second,  and  the  general  public  last.  The  custom  of  the 
clergy,  it  is  manifest,  is  the  greatest  prize  open  to  the 

•  Evening  Teltyr.iph,  Dublin,  January  21,  1902. 
-  Free  Press,  January  17,  1902. 


TEMPTING  THE  CLERGY  469 

energetic  Wexford  shopkeeper.  But,  wise  in  his  genera- 
tion, he  does  not  rely  upon  tea  alone  to  attract  clerical 
business.  He  announces  "  John  Jameson's  Three  Star 
Whisky,  which  must  be  seven  years  old  to  warrant  the 
use  of  their  Three  Star  Capsule."  As  Mr.  Graves,  in  his 
well-known  song,  "  advances  "  Father  O'Flynn  "  without 
impropriety,"  so  this  Enniscorthy  shopkeeper  advances 
for  the  CLERGY,  gentry,  and  general  public  his  "  Bishops- 
water  in  various  ages ;  but  a  rare  eye-opener  is  the 
eleven  years'  old  at  twenty  shillings  per  gallon  " ;  ^  and 
"  Famous  Brandy,  fifteen  years  in  wood — a  rare  pick- 
me-up  " ;  and,  "  Jamaica  Rum,  guaranteed  pure,  seven 
years  old  ;  a  nightcap  in  the  shape  of  a  glass  hot  before 
retiring  is  a  safe  and  simple  preventive  against  that 
human  scourge  Influenza  "  ;  and  an  "  immense  stock  of 
Wines  held  at  prices  to  suit  every  one's  pocket "  ;  and 
"  Guinness's  Extra  Stout  and  Bass's  Ale,  always  in  the 
pink  of  condition." 

The  admitted  number  of  priests  in  Wexford  in  1901 
was  143,  monks  24,  and  theological  students  14 — total, 
181.^  I  doubt  the  veracity  of  the  official  figures  for 
theological  students,  because  the  number  of  students 
resident  at  the  Ecclesiastical  College  in  Wexford  alone 
is  55,  and  there  are  9  resident  students  at  the  Augus- 
tinian  school  at  New  Ross — total,  64,  the  bulk  of  whom, 
though  in  a  junior  grade,  must  be  intended  for  the 
priesthood.  Let  us,  however,  take  the  total  at  181,  and 
add  to  it  the  admitted  number  of  nuns  in  the  county, 
354,  the  largest  county  establishment  of  nuns  in 
Leinster,  excepting  Dublin ;  let  us  then  add  male  and 
female  teachers  under  sacerdotal  control  287,  and  we 
find  the  priests'  effective  army  in  Wexford  numbers 

^  "  Bishops  water  "   is  not  a  "holy  water"  for  ecclesiastical  cere- 
monies ;  it  is  the  trade  name  of  a  whisky  distilled  in  Wexford. 
■■*  "Census  of  Ireland,"  1901. 


470  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

822  people.  The  two  nun-managed  industrial  schools 
in  the  county,  which  drew  £-3,207,  5s.  2d.  of  public 
money  in  1900,  contained  179  vagrant  little  girls  that 
year ;  and  if  we  add  them  to  the  sacerdotal  establish- 
ment we  find  it  tots  up  to  a  thousand  souls,  without 
reckoning  the  subsidiary  religious  in  the  convents  and 
friaries.  There  is  a  Magdalen  Asylum  at  New  Ross,  in 
which  there  were  45  selected  fallen  women  in  1901, 
whose  histories  I  should  like  to  inquh-e  into. 

The  number  of  Wexford  people  who  were  returned 
as  being  unable  to  "read  and  Avrite"  in  1901  was  29.6 
per  cent.,  or  nearly  one-third  of  the  population,  despite, 
or  rather,  because  of,  the  sacerdotal  army !  The  anti- 
marriage  organisations  being  in  such  a  position  of 
power  in  Wexford,  it  need  not  astonish  us  to  find 
that  out  of  the  total  decrease  in  population  from  1891 
to  1 90 1,  namely  7959,  only  3960  can  be  attributed 
to  emigration. 

The  inventive  genius  of  Wexford  in  the  religion- 
business  of  Ireland  is  evidenced  by  an  institution 
known  as  the  House  of  Missions  in  Enniscorthy — pur- 
veyors of  history  made  to  order — in  which  a  number 
of  secular  priests  live  in  community  as  regular  priests ; 
and  by  a  resolution  from  its  district  councils  that  post- 
offices  and  other  public  departments  in  the  county 
should  be  closed  on  Saints'  days.  Alas,  Wexford,  the 
Gaelic  League  alone  was  wanting  to  crown  your  sacer- 
dotalism !  There  is  not  a  single  human  being  in  the 
county  who  speaks  Irish  only ;  but,  in  the  decade  from 
1 89 1  to  1 90 1,  the  priests'  national  schools  swelled  the 
number  of  misguided  youths  who  patter  the  Irish 
numerals  from  320  to  1320. 

In  1 87 1, when  the  population  of  Wexfordwas  1 32,666, 
the  priests,  monks,  and  nuns  numbered  only  293  ;  in 
1 88 1,  when  the  population  had  fallen  to  123,854,  the 


THE   PRIEST   IN  WICKLOW  471 

sacerdotal  organisation  had  risen  to  4 1 8  ;  in  1 89 1 ,  with 
the  population  down  to  111,798,  the  priests  and  their 
religious  satellites  had  increased  to  495  ;  and  in  1901, 
to  embarrass  a  Roman  Catholic  population  of  95,435, 
we  find  an  admitted  record  total  of  535  priests,  monks, 
and  nuns. 

The  adjacent  county  of  Wicklow,  which  in  1 87 1  had 
a  population  of  78,697,  contained  only  60,679  people  in 
1901.  In  1 87 1  it  supported  only  107  priests,  monks, 
and  nuns  ;  to-day,  when  it  has  lost  1 8,0 1 8  of  its  people, 
its  priests,  monks,  and  nuns  number  227,  an  increase  of 
over  1 00  per  cent. !  The  male  and  female  teachers 
under  sacerdotal  control  number  196,  which  makes  the 
strength  of  the  sacerdotal  service  in  the  county  423 
persons.  The  county  contains  the  priest-managed  re- 
formatory of  Glencree,  which  draws  .^4327,  17s.  8d.  of 
public  money,  or  a  pension  of  ;!^2  5,  6s.  1 1  d.  per  head,  per 
annum,  for  the  169  criminal  boys  within  its  walls;  and 
the  nun-managed  "  industrial "  school  at  Rathdrum, 
which  takes  ;^i  100,  los.  rod.  per  annum  for  60  derelict 
girls.  The  Imperial  Government  is  represented  in 
Wicklow  by  123  male  and  female  civil  servants.  The 
local  government  staff,  including  police,  municipal, 
parish,  union,  district,  and  county  ojficials,  male  and 
female,  only  amounts  to  259.  The  strength  of  the 
imperial  service  is,  therefore,  not  much  over  one- 
fourth  and  the  local  government  service  is  only  three- 
fifths  of  the  strength  of  the  sacerdotal  service.  The 
two  secular  services  combined  fall  far  short  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  sacerdotal  establishment  in  the  county.^ 

^  "  Census  of  Ireland,"  looi. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

THE    priests'    army   IN    LEINSTER 

The  entire  Roman  Catliolic  population  of  Leinster  in 
1 90 1  was  981,026,  distributed  amongst  twelve  counties 
— Carlow,  Dublin,  Kildare,  Kilkenny,  King's,  Longford, 
Louth,  Meath,  Queen's,  Westmeath,  Wexford,  and 
Wicklow — and  including  the  metropolis  of  Dublin. 
I  have  dealt  in  some  detail  with  eight  of  those  coun- 
ties and  with  the  metropolis  ;  and  the  conditions  under 
which  Roman  Catholics  live  in  the  four  remaining 
counties — Meath,  Westmeath,  Queen's,  and  Wicklow — 
may  be  fairly  inferred  from  the  pictures  of  priests  and 
people  that  I  have  drawn.  I  shall  now  sum  up  the 
Roman  Catholic  sacerdotal  organisation  of  the  pro- 
vince, whose  members  are  maintained  in  riches  by 
the  complaining  and  distracted  people.  And  it  must 
be  borne  in  mind  that,  in  addition  to  what  they  draw 
directly  from  the  people,  the  priests  wield  important 
patronage  under  more  than  one  department  of  State, 
and  draw  large  sums  of  public  money  under  various 
Acts  of  Parliament. 

In  the  first  place,  the  hierarchy  of  the  province — 
of  whom  British  statesmen  and  Nationalist  Members 
of  Parliament  speak  in  bated  breath  and  whispering 
humbleness  —  consists  of  the  Archbishop  and  co- 
adjutor Bishop  of  Dublin  and  his  three  suffragan 
Bishops  of  Ossory,  Ferns,  and  Kildare  and  Leighlin ;  and 
the  two  Bishops  of  Meath  and  Ardagh,  who  are  under 


THE   LEINSTER   PRIESTS  473 

the  jurisdiction  of  Cardinal  Logiie;  that  is  to  say,  an 
archbishop  and  six  bishops  resident  in  the  province. 

I  find  that,  on  their  own  admission,  there  are  888 
secular  priests  in  the  parishes  and  diocesan  colleges 
in  Leinster,  It  is  impossible  to  get  the  exact  strength 
of  the  regular  priests  in  the  province ;  but  they  admit 
342,  which  would  give  a  total  of  1230  secular  and 
regular  clergy  in  Leinster.  If  these  were  1230  clergy- 
men of  any  of  the  Reformed  Churches,  there  would 
be  nothing  more  to  say  of  them  ;  except,  perhaps,  to 
add  that  they  were  bringing  up  1230  healthy  families, 
all  of  whom  were  destined  to  do  some  service  to  the 
State.  But  our  1230  Leinster  priests  are  not  only 
men  apart  from  the  people,  rearing  no  families,  con- 
tributing nothing  to  the  commonwealth ;  but,  in 
addition,  they  are  surrounded  by  a  force  of  subsidiary 
sacerdotal  persons  who,  though  not  ordained,  are 
also  withdrawn  from  the  service  of  the  country,  and 
whose  numbers  are  certainly  six,  and  probably  seven, 
times  the  number  of  the  priests.  And  these  subsidiary 
thousands  not  alone  live  in  comfort  themselves,  but 
also  play  the  part  of  jackals  and  feeders  to  the  priests. 
In  addition  to  the  establishments  of  regular  priests, 
which  I  have  set  forth  in  the  city  of  Dublin,  to  find 
a  parallel  for  whose  numbers  we  would  have  to  go  to 
Italy,  there  are  the  following  settlements  of  regular 
priests  in  the  country  districts  of  Leinster,  each  of 
which  may  be  truly  described  as  a  centre  of  dis- 
turbance and  mental  distraction  for  the  lay  people 
in  its  vicinity. 

The  Augustinians  have  friaries  at  New  Ross  and 
Clonmines  in  county  Wexford,  at  Callan  and  at 
Drogheda.  The  Capuchins  are  in  Ealkenny,  The 
Calced  Carmelites  are  in  Kildare,  Moate,  and  Knock- 
topher.     The  Dominicans  are   at  Drogheda,  Dimdalk 


474  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

Newbridge,  Athy,  and  Kilkenny.  The  Franciscans  are 
settled  at  Multyfarnham,  Athlone,  and  Wexford.  The 
Oblates  are  settled  at  Glencree  and  Philipstown.  The 
Redemptorists  are  in  Dundalk.  The  Jesuits  are  at 
Clongowes  Wood  and  at  Tullamore.  The  Marists  are 
in  Dundalk.     So  much  for  the  priests. 

The  Christian  Brothers  are  in  Athy,  Mullingar,  Kells, 
Kilkenny,  Callan,  Carlo w,  Maryborough,  Portarlington, 
Monasterevan,  Naas,  Kilcock,  Wexford,  New  Ross, 
Enniscorthy,  Gorey,  Drogheda,  and  Dundalk.  The 
Presentation  Brothers  are  at  Birr.  The  Brothers  of 
St.  Patrick  are  at  Tullow  and  Mountrath.  The 
Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools  are  at  Ardee,  Kildare, 
Bagenalstown,  Kilkenny,  and  Mountrath ;  Franciscan 
Brothers  at  Clara,  and  Marist  Brothers  at  Athlone.  The 
full  number  of  inmates  in  regular  houses,- whether  of 
priests  or  monks,  is  unknown;  for  novices,  lay- brothers, 
sacerdotal  students,  and  others  are  not  given  under  the 
head  of  clergy  in  official  returns. 

It  may  be  contended  that  these  men  work  at  teaching, 
I  reply,  so  much  the  worse  is  it  for  the  country.  If 
they  left  the  teaching  to  be  done  by  competent,  honest 
laymen,  and  lived  idle  themselves,  I  should  gladly 
support  a  vote  of  public  money  for  their  sustenance 
for  life ;  for  I  feel  certain  their  craft  would  die  with 
the  present  generation,  and  the  next  generation  would 
enjoy  the  advantages  of  proper  clergymen  and  proper 
teachers.  It  is  by  their  influence  on  the  minds  of  the 
children  that  they  work  the  irreparable  harm  to  the 
country,  not  by  the  abstraction  of  money  from  the 
adults.  If  the  child  could  be  freed,  the  onslaught  on 
the  adult's  purse  would  soon  become  a  negligible  evil. 
Let  us  now  pass  on  to  the  female  religious  of  Leinster. 

The  condition  of  the  women  in  any  country  is  an 
unerring    index    of  the    degree   of   civilisation   which 


THE  LEINSTER  NUNS  475 

prevails  amongst  its  inhabitants.  Judged  by  this 
standard,  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  lower  state  of 
civilisation  than  that  which  prevails  in  Roman  Catholic 
Ireland.  Sacerdotalism  being  in  the  ascendant,  the 
women  are  relegated  to  an  inferior  position  by  the 
almighty  bachelors.  All  improving  reading  is  for- 
bidden. Their  minds  are  a  blank.  They  are  bred  up 
in  superstition,  silliness,  and  cowardice.  Their  educa- 
tion is  entirely  monopolised  by  ladies,  well-meaning 
and  deceived,  but,  nevertheless,  the  cowardliest  and 
most  superstitious  Avomen  in  the  country,  namely, 
the  nuns  who  have  themselves  fled  in  sheer  dismay 
from  the  world,  as  it  has  been  painted  for  them  by  the 
confessors  and  bishops.  I  do  not  impugn  the  hond- 
Jides  of  the  nuns  when  I  write  thus.  I  regard  them 
as  well-intentioned  but  misguided,  incompetent,  and 
terrified  women.  The  nuns  are  the  reverse,  that  is  to 
say,  of  everythiDg  that  the  womankind  of  a  brave  race 
would  be.  They  are  an  important  section  of  our 
womankind ;  and  we  commit  the  national  crime  of 
entrusting  to  them  the  formation  of  our  daughters' 
characters,  and  we  suft'er  for  it. 

In  the  eight  counties  of  Kilkenny,  Louth,  Westmeath, 
Carlow,  Meath,  Kildare,  King's,  and  Longford  there  are 
1 146  admitted  professed  nuns.  That  figure  does  not, 
of  course,  account  for  more  than  half  the  inmates  of 
the  convents,  such  as  novices,  lay  sisters,  and  others  ; 
but  I  am  not  concerned  with  that  now.  I  wish  to  lay 
stress  upon  the  point  that  those  eight  counties  contain 
48,076  girls,  between  the  ages  of  ten  and  twenty ;  their 
population  is  nine-tenths  Roman  Catholic  ;  yet,  in  their 
own  most  favourable  estimate,  they  only  claim  that 
8  3  I  girls  are  receiving  "  superior "  education  !  The 
"  superior  "  education  so  called  is  not  good  education  ; 
but,  such  as  it  is,  they  only  give  it  to  831  girls  out  of 


476  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

48,076,  while  there  are  1 146  nuns.  While  the  women 
of  Roman  Catholic  Ireland  are  wronged  as  they  are, 
we.  Catholic  Irishmen,  shall  remain  what  we  are,  a 
nation  of  cowards — a  people  who,  judged  solely  by 
their  past  acts,  are  the  meanest  pure  white  race  in  the 
world.  We  profess  to  admire  the  Boers.  When  shall 
we  try  to  be  like  them  ?  When  shall  we  treat  our 
women  as  they  do  ?  When  shall  we  entirely  dispense 
with  the  coward-manufacturing  priest,  as  they  do  ? 
When  shall  we  appeal  to  God  and  trust  in  God  directly 
in  our  trouble,  as  they  do  ?  When  shall  each  man  of 
us  make  his  own  of  Christ's  message  to  mankind  ? 
When  shall  we  begin  to  be  good  internally  and 
abandon  hypocritical  and  superstitious  formalities  ? 
When  shall  we  be  truthful  and  brave,  instead  of 
being  "  ingrained  liars,"  as  Huxley  called  our  parlia- 
mentary representatives?  Ah,  when?  Is  there  a 
Methuselah  living  who  shall  see  that  blessed  day  ? 
Assuredly,  one  of  the  first  stages  on  the  road  to  that 
end  must  be  the  emancipation  of  our  women  from  the 
contagion  of  the  priest. 

Let  us  observe  how  our  Irish  women  and  girls  are 
employing  themselves  all  over  the  fair  province  of 
Leinster,  outside  nun-ridden  Dublin ;  while  weeds  grow 
upon  ten  thousand  hearths  beside  which  busy  spindles 
hummed  when  nuns  were  unknown  in  Ireland.  If 
they  can  live  at  home  as  nuns,  why  can  they  not  do 
so  as  mothers,  wives,  and  daughters  ?  The  answer  is, 
Because  the  spell  of  the  priest,  like  witchcraft,  is  upon 
them.  They  are  bewitched  ;  they  are  not  themselves ; 
they  are  madcaps ;  brainless,  heartless  sprites ;  they  are 
changelings. 

They  desert  their  fathers,  mothers,  brothers,  and 
sisters,  and  fly  within  the  convent  walls  in  order  to 
save  their  souls !     The  younger  girls  are  deluded  into 


THE  CONVENTS  OF  TO-DAY  477 

thinking  that  their  retreat  from  the  workl  is  a  sacrifice 
to  God,  and  that  their  conduct  is  worthy  of  admira- 
tion. But,  before  they  are  many  years  inside  the 
walls,  the  gilt  wears  off  their  gingerbread,  and   they 

find  themselves  the  tools  and  henchwomen  of  desitni- 

o 

ing  priests,  with  no  consolation  save  what  their  Avorm- 
eaten  minds  may  find  in  those  degrading  practices  of 
paganism  and  superstition  so  well  known  to  us  all — 
statue-worshipping,  clay-kissing,  relic-adoring,  and  all 
the  rest  of  that  agglomeration  of  Hottentotism  Avhich, 
vain  women,  they  call  "  the  faith  " !  Cowardly  daughters 
of  Ireland,  you  heartlessly  desert  your  struggling  kith 
and  kin !  Cowardly  parents  of  Ireland,  afraid  that 
your  neglected  daughters  will  be  a  burden  to  you, 
you  join  with  the  priest  in  inducing  them  to  enter 
the  religious  jail,  where  mind  and  body  are  kept  in 
fetters !  Heartless  nuns  of  Ireland,  as  you  deserted 
your  parents,  so  you  desert,  and  are  deserted  by, 
one  another  when  in  serious  trouble.  When  one  of 
your  number  falls  ill,  you  compel  her  to  apply  for 
pecuniary  help  to  the  home  which  she  left,  and  in 
which  she  is  no  longer  welcome.  0  girls  of  Ireland, 
the  cowardliest  and  most  ignoble  fashion  in  which 
you  can  crawl  through  life  to  the  grave — the  most 
contemptible  and  selfish  existence  which  can  be  led  by 
woman — begins  when  you  enter  one  of  these  convents 
established  by  our  designing  priests ! 

Our  convents  are  no  longer  societies  of  well-to-do 
ladies  retired  from  the  world  for  contemplation,  and 
living  like  Christians  in  community.  That  may  have 
been  the  case  fifty  years  ago,  when  convents  were  few. 
To-day  our  convents  are,  to  a  great  extent,  barracks 
of  penniless  women  engaged  in  the  sordid  work  of 
extracting  money  from  the  public,  either  from  the 
Government  or  from   individuals,  in  order   to   enrich 


478  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

the  sacerdotal  organisation — taking  money  under  Poor 
Law  Acts,  Industrial  Schools  and  Reformatory  Acts, 
Technical  Instruction  Acts ;  and  begging  from  a  people 
whose  whines  re-echo  throughout  the  world.  Their 
practices  are  nearer  to  paganism  than  Christianity. 
Their  inmates  are  the  most  deceived  and  degenerate 
section  of  the  most  degenerate  people  in  North  Europe 
or  North  America. 

They  call  themselves  Dominicans  in  Drogheda  and 
Wicklow ;  Presentation  Nuns  in  Drogheda,  Tullamore, 
Mullingar,  Carlow,  Maryborough,  Kildare,  Bagenalstown, 
Clane,  Portarlington,  Mountmellick,  Stradbally,  Baltin- 
glass,  Kilcock,  Enniscorthy,  Wexford,  Kilkenny,  Kilma- 
cow,  Castlecomer,  and  Mooncoin ;  Sisters  of  Mercy  at 
Arklow,  Athy,  Dundalk,  Ardee,  Tullamore,  Frankford, 
Navan,  Kells,  Drogheda,  Rochfortbridge,  Clara,  Trim, 
Kilbeggan,  Carlow,  Naas,  Rathangan,  Monasterevan, 
Longford,  Moate,  Newtownforbes,  Ballymahon,  Granard, 
Edgeworthstown,  Wexford,  Enniscorthy,  New  Ross, 
Callan,  Kilkennny,  Borris-in-Ossory,  and  Thomastown ; 
Sisters  of  Charity  at  Drogheda  and  Kilkenny ;  Sisters 
of  Loreto  at  Balbriggan,  Navan,  Mullingar,  Gorey, 
Enniscorthy,  Wexford,  and  Kilkenny  ;  Sisters  of  the 
Order  of  Cluny  at  Ferbane  ;  Sisters  of  La  Sainte  Union 
at  Banagher  and  Athlone  ;  Sisters  of  St.  Bridget  at 
Tullow,  Ballyroan,  Mountrath,  Abbeyleix,  and  Gores- 
bridge  ;  Carmelite  Nuns  at  New  Ross  ;  Sisters  of  the 
Good  Shepherd  at  New  Ross ;  Faithful  Companions 
of  Jesus  at  Newtownbarry  ;  Sisters  of  St.  Louis  at 
Ramsgrano;e ;  Sisters  of  St.  John  of  God  at  Wexford, 
Kilkenny,  Castlecomer,  and  Thomastown  ;  Sisters  of  Per- 
petual Adoration  at  Wexford ;  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Faith 
at  Mullinavat,  Kilcool,  and  Newtownmountkennedy ; 
Sisters  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Mary  at  Ferrybank; 
Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross  at  Kilcullen ;   Poor  Clares 


9i6o  LEINSTER  RELIGIOUS!  479 

at  Carlow-Graigue  ;  and  Sisters  of  Mary  Immaculate  at 
Newbridge ! 

What  an  army  !  What  a  heritage  for  a  poor  province 
to  possess !  This  gives  us  a  total  of  84  convents  in 
Leinster,  outside  the  city  of  Dublin.  In  addition  to 
these,  there  are  the  settlements  of  nuns  in  the  Union 
poorhouses  all  over  the  province.  The  number  of 
nuns  admitted  in  i  o  of  the  1 2  Leinster  counties,  in 
1 90 1 ,  was  1727.  I  shall  put  down  the  number  of  nuns 
in  the  i  2  counties,  outside  Dublin  and  its  suburbs,  at 
2000  ;  which  would  represent  an  average  community  of 
24  professed  nuns  in  each  convent.  Some  of  the  con- 
vents who  admit  their  strength  have  50,  60,  70,  and  80 
nuns  in  community,  ■while  some,  Rathfarnham  for  in- 
stance, have  over  100.  But  I  prefer  to  be  under  than 
over  the  mark,  and  I  shall  let  the  figure  stand  at  2000 
for  Leinster,  outside  the  metropolis.  In  the  metropolis 
we  find  the  professed  nuns  partially  admitted  as  1649, 
and,  adding  the  Orders  who  do  not  admit  their  strength, 
I  place  the  number  of  metropolitan  nuns  at  2000.  This 
gives  us  4000  professed  nuns  for  all  Leinster.  Therefore 
I  hold  that,  exclusive  of  pupils,  the  Leinster  convents 
contain  w^ithin  their  walls,  at  a  moderate  estimate,  6000 
women,  principal  and  subsidiary,  devoted  to  the  service 
of  the  sacerdotal  orsfanisation  in  Ireland. 

There  are  1230  secular  and  regular  priests  within 
the  province.  We  may  put  down  the  theological 
students  at  the  same  fissure,  which  is  moderate,  see- 
ing  that  one  county  alone,  Kildaro,  contains  half  the 
number.  That  gives  us  a  total  of  2460  priests  and 
sacerdotal  students.  Let  us  add  for  lay  brothers  and 
novices  in  the  regular  friaries  in  city  and  counties 
400 ;  and  for  the  26  establishments  of  Monks  and 
Christian  Brothers  in  the  province,  and  the  20  estab- 
lishments of  Christian  Brothers  in  the  city,  total  46 


48o  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

establishments,  say  300.  That  would  give  us  a  total 
of  3160  male  religious  and  6000  female  rehgious  in 
the  province  of  Leinster — figures  which  are  well  within 
the  mark — grand  total,  9160! 

In  1 87 1,  when  Leinster  contained  188,966  more 
people  than  it  does  now,  its  priests,  monks,  nuns,  and 
theological  students  only  numbered  3638— and  who 
will  say  that  it  was  not  sufficient  ?  ^ 

Our  members  howl  in  Parliament  about  the  million 
odd  pounds  which  the  Imperial  Treasury  pays  for  main- 
taining the  Royal  Irish  Constabulary.  But  the  cost  of 
the  Irish  police  is  a  bagatelle  compared  with  the 
millions  of  money  which  this  Leinster  clerical  brigade 
alone  draws  from  the  Treasury  coffers  as  well  as  from 
the  dwindling,  shrinking  Roman  Catholic  people !  It 
is  true  the  sacerdotal  brigade  contributes  a  con- 
temptuous dole  to  the  Irish  Party,  while  the  Con- 
stabulary contribute  nothing  to  that  war-chest. 

But  I  would  remind  our  members  that,  if  the  Con- 
stabulary men  stand  by  at  evictions,  they  also  bury  the 
Bridget  Clearys  that  have  been  burned  alive  by  their 
husbands,  and  the  James  Cunninghams  who  have  been 
hacked  to  death  by  their  brothers,  under  the  curse  of 
priest-inspired  superstitions,  and  they  solace  the  poor 
mothers  who,  driven  mad  by  our  religion,  murder  their 
infant  families  to  save  the  little  children  from  the 
flames  of  hell.  The  Constabulary  is  a  force  composed 
of  Irishmen,  married  and  living  in  the  world,  and 
taking  nothing  from  the  State  but  their  wages ;  and 
if  they  cannot  find  a  better  way  of  living,  it  is  because 
of  the  death-in-life  condition  to  which  Catholic  Ire- 
land has  been  reduced  by  the  priests. 

1  "Census  of  Ireland,"  1871. 


I 


Lawrence. 


The  New  Tiiurles  Cathedral 


"  There  is  no  county  in  Ireland  in  which  superstitious  beliefs  and 
practices  are  more  prevalent  than  in  Tipperary  "  (p.  485). 


CHAPTER    XXVI 

IN    THE    PROVINCE    OF    MUNSTER 

It  will  not  be  necessary  to  devote  much  space  to 
Munster,  for  the  forces  of  sacerdotalism  which  are  at 
work  there  to  retard  civilisation,  decrease  population, 
and  deform  the  mind,  are  the  same  which  I  have 
described  in  Leinster  and  Connaught  and  in  the 
Catholic  portion  of  Ulster.  If  a  Protestant  race  iu- 
liabited  this  noble  province,  it  would  be  one  of  the 
richest  and  most  important  tracts  of  territory  in  North 
Europe.  It  is  my  native  province.  I  love  it,  and  I 
love  the  "  decent,"  inconsiderate  people  who  inhabit  it, 
best  of  all  the  natives  of  Ireland.  Therefore  it  is  that 
I  feel  urged  on  to  chastise  and  chasten  them  more 
unsparingly  than  the  mysterious  ravens  of  the  West, 
or  the  blind  Roman  Catholics  of  Ulster  who  sin  against 
the  light  and  will  not  see,  or  the  pleasure-pursuing, 
horse-racing,  card-playing  Roman  Catholics  of  Leinster. 
AVlien  I  think  of  my  glorious  native  province,  watered 
by  the  Shannon,  the  Lee,  the  Blackwater,  the  Suir,  the 
Bride,  the  Bandon,  and  a  thousand  other  streams  that 
never  fail,  and  contemplate  the  havoc  wrought  in  it  by 
the  priest,  I  cannot  suppress  my  emotion.  I  find  it 
difficult  to  write  dispassionately  about  its  condition. 
The  splendour  of  its  mountains  from  Carrantual  to 
Slieve-na-mon,  from  Devil's  Bit  to  Mount  Gabriel ; 
the  heavenly  beauty  of  its  lakes  and  estuaries  from 
Killarney  to  Dunmore ;  the  magnificence  and  utility 
of  its  harbours;  the  freedom  and  richness  of  its  un- 

^^'  2  H 


482  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

dulating  plains ;    the  romance  of  its   deep,  fern-clad, 
heather-blushing,  furze-yellowed,  rowan-reddened  glens, 
where  streams  rush  full  under  snowy  foam  in  mid- 
summer— all  rise  up  before  my  mind  and  call  upon 
me    to    do    something,   however   small,   to   rouse    the 
people  to  then  duties.     A  fairer  land  perverted  from 
every  useful,  elevating  purpose,  it  would  be  difficult 
to    find    in    the    middle    of    modern    civilisation.     A 
more    insidious,    priest-inflicted    mental    deformity,    a 
more  deadly  sphitual  blight  does  not  possess  white 
men  anyivhere  within  the  temperate  zones.     Ruin  of 
mind,  wrought  in  the  name  of  religion,  pervades  all 
Munster.     It  is  not  a  ruin  worked  by  violence  which 
compels  the  attention  of  humanity ;  it  is  rather  the 
shrinkage  of  decay,  proceeding  like   a  leprosy.     The 
young  people  fly  from  it.     All  the  Bishop  Foleys  in 
Ireland   cannot   detain   them,   unless   when   they   can 
entice  them  to  submit  to  the  sacerdotal  harness,  the 
Roman  collar  or  the  bandeau,  before  they  have  got  well 
into  their  'teens.    A  permanent  decrease  in  population, 
accompanied  by  a  decrease  in  emigration  and  a  failure 
of  natural  increase  amongst  the  Roman  Catholic  people, 
are  to  be  found  all  over  Munster.    The  failure  of  natural 
increase  is  due,  not,  as  in  France,  to  a  settled  policy  on 
the  part  of  married  people,  but  to  the  taking  of  anti- 
marriage  vows   by  the  thousands  of  our  able-bodied 
young  men  and  women,  who  are  misled,  year  by  year, 
into  joining  the  sacerdotal  organisation.     The  priests 
attribute  the  decrease  in  our  population  entirely  to 
emigration ;  and  the  priests'  press  and  priests'  mem- 
bers of  Parliament  endorse  that  view.     But  the  anti- 
marriage  vows  of  the  sacerdotal  organisation  are  as 
much  to  blame  as  emigration  for  the  loss  of  population. 
It  is  only  in  the  western  Irish  counties  that  the  loss 
from  emigration  will  account  for  the  decrease  of  popu- 


ANTI-MARRIAGE   VOWS  483 

lation.  In  most  of  the  others  a  second  cause  of  decrease 
must  be  supplied.  Wicklow,  for  instance,  lost  3668  in 
the  decade  from  1891  to  1901,  but  only  1691  of  these 
emigrated.  During  the  same  period,  King's  County 
lost  5376  in  population,  while  the  emigrants  numbered 
only  3708  ;  Kildare  lost  6640  people,  but  of  that  num- 
ber only  2  1 1 3  emigrated — and  Kildare  is  one  of  the 
most  priest-infested  counties  in  Ireland;  Meath  lost  8614 
people,  but  only  4358  of  these  emigrated — it  is  a  most 
priest-ridden  county;  Carlow  lost  4216  of  its  inhabi- 
tants, Avhile  only  2610  of  them  emigrated;  Westmeath 
lost  6982  people,  but  only  3354  were  emigrants;  Louth 
lost  6094  people,  but  only  2803  of  these  were  emigrants ; 
Kilkenny  lost  8337,  but  only  483  5  were  emigrants.  So 
it  is  all  over  Ireland,  except  in  some  of  the  counties  on 
the  western  seaboard,  where  the  marrpng  classes  of  the 
community  are  sufficiently  prolific  to  maintain  the  anti- 
marriage  fraternity  at  full  strength  and  send  off  sufficient 
emigrants  to  account  for  the  decrease  in  population. 
The  highest  birth-rate  in  Ireland,  28.4  per  1000  in 
1 900,  was  to  be  found  in  Protestant  Antrim;  the  lowest, 
18.7  per  1000,  in  Catholic  Roscommon,  Meath,  and 
Westmeath,  with  all  their  anti-marriage  associations. 

The  province  of  Munster  is  the  most  Roman  Catholic 
province  in  Ireland.  Its  population  in  1901  was 
1,075,075,  having  fallen  from  2,404,460  since  1841.  Of 
the  1,075,075  people  who  now  inhabit  it,  1,007,283  are 
Roman  Catholics,  the  balance,  67,792,  being  members 
of  the  various  reformed  Christian  churches.  The  priest 
is  therefore  the  lord  of  Munster.  The  newspapers  see 
through  him,  but  they  flatter  him;  for  in  himself  alone 
he  represents  a  large  circulation  and  advertisement 
business,  and  holds  the  provincial  press  in  the  hollow 
of  his  hand.  The  professional  men  privately  despise 
him,  but  are  forced  to  beg  for  his  influence.      The 


484  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

traders  and  farmers  partially  see  through  him,  but  he 
infuses  them  with  such  a  spirit  of  laziness  and  cowardice, 
and  so  distorts  their  minds  in  youth,  that,  while  they 
are  always  in  a  state  of  smothered  repudiation  of  his 
pretensions,  they  pass  through  life  without  assailing 
him.  All  classes,  but  especially  the  labourers,  fly  from 
him  in  thousands  across  the  Atlantic  and  the  Indian 
Ocean.  The  decrease  in  population  in  Catholic 
Munster,  during  the  decade  1891-1901,  was  8.4  per 
cent,,  whereas  the  decrease  of  Leinster  was  only  3.5, 
and  of  Ulster  2.4  per  cent.  Even  congested  Connaught 
only  decreased  1.3  per  cent,  more  than  Munster. 

I  give  an  illustration  of  some  young  Munster  men 
at  work  near  the  Arctic  circle  in  British  territory. 
During  the  long  nine  months  of  winter,  when  outdoor 
labour  was  impossible,  they  have  been  working  in  a 
tunnel  of  their  own  borinar  in  the  mountain  side,  exca- 
vating  and  loosening  the  auriferous  soil.  Now  that 
summer,  with  its  unending  daylight  has  come,  they  are 
washing  out  and  extracting  the  gold  from  the  rocks 
and  clay  excavated  in  the  permanent  darkness  of  winter. 
Such  industry  and  courage  ought  to  win  for  their 
possessors  a  rich  reward  in  their  native  land.  But  an 
inscrutable  Providence  decrees  that  it  should  be  other- 
wise. Those  young  Irishmen,  my  brothers-in-law,  were 
not  deterred  from  seeking  fortune  and  freedom  abroad 
by  Bishop  Foley's  coward-manufacturing  creed.  The 
Roman  Catholic  priest  is  not  to  be  found  in  their 
district,  to  the  great  gain,  in  my  opinion,  of  the 
community.  He  will  not  arrive  until  the  place  can 
comfortably  support  a  contingent  of  cowards. 

The  Roman  Catholic  sacerdotal  organisation  of 
Munster  would  be  more  than  sufficient  for  all  Catholic 
Ireland.  The  hierarchy  consists  of  the  Archbishop  and 
coadjutor  bishop  of  Cashel,  and  the  seven  bishops  of 


THE  TIPPERARY   PRIESTS  485 

Cork,  Cloyne,  Ross,  Kerry,  Waterford,  Limerick,  and 
Killaloe,  making  a  total  of  nine  bishops  for  the  pro- 
vince. The  diocese  of  Kilfenora,  in  the  north  of  Clare, 
is  mercifully  kept  in  abeyance  for  the  present  and 
administered  by  the  Bishop  of  Galway,  until,  perhaps, 
a  further  decrease  in  the  lay  population  and  a  corre- 
sponding increase  in  the  sacerdotal  organisation  renders 
the  appointment  of  an  extra  bishop  indispensable. 

The  archdiocese  of  Cashel  comprises  the  larger  part 
of  Tipperary  and  portion  of  county  Limerick.  There  is 
no  county  in  Ireland  in  which  superstitious  beliefs  and 
practices  arc  more  prevalent  than  in  Tipperary,^  and  in 
the  portion  of  it  included  in  this  diocese.  The  horrible 
wife-burning  case  at  Ballyvadlea,  in  which  the  inhabi- 
tants of  a  Avhole  townland  were  implicated — and  during 
the  progress  of  which  mass  was  celebrated  in  the  house 
— and  the  appalling  infant-slaughter  at  Cappawhite  were 
perpetrated  within  the  confines  of  this  diocese.'  The 
archbishop  resides  at  Thurles,  and  I  give  an  illustration 
of  the  costly  cathedral  in  that  town.  The  vindictiveness 
of  the  people  in  Tipperary  is  such  that  they  refuse  to 
bury  the  bodies  of  their  enemies,  even  though  they  be 
their  own  nearest  kin.  Quite  recently  a  poor  Roman 
Catholic  woman  living  in  the  vicinity  of  Templemore, 
whose  only  tangible  offence  was  that  she  had  let 
her  house  to  the  constabulary,  was  treated  thus  when 
she  died ;  and  her  remains  had  to  be  interred  by  the 
police,  as  if  they  were  those  of  a  deserted  animal.  We 
are  accustomed  nowadays  to  blame  the  Regular  priests 
and  deal  leniently  with  the  secular  clergy  when  dis- 
cussing the  mental  degradation,  anti-Christian  vindic- 
tiveness and  superstition  which  are  to  be  found — 
and  have  always  been  found — united  with  an  intense 
degree  of  Roman  Cathohc  religiosity.    But  here,  in  this 

^  See  "  Five  Years  in  Ireland."  -  Ibid. 


486  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

archdiocese  of  Tipperary,  let  me  point  out,  if  it  be  any 
vindication  of  the  Regulars,  that  the  people  are,  except 
for  one  small  friary  in  Fethard,  altogether  under  the 
charge  of  the  secular  priests.  Oh,  what  tyrants  those 
priests  of  Tipperary  are !  Oh,  what  serfs  are  the 
"  Rorys  of  the  Hills  "  of  this  "  premier"  county,  as  its 
inhabitants  call  it !  The  treatment  of  Government 
officials  and  Protestants  in  Thurles  from  1880  to  1890 
would  disgrace  a  savage  community — 

"  He  swung  his  first-born  in  the  air, 
While  joy  his  heart  did  fill — 
'  You'll  be  a  freeman  yet,  my  boy,' 
Said  Rory  of  the  Hill."  1 

I  doubt  it.  The  Tipperary  Rorys  will  never  free  the 
children  of  Ireland.  There  are  too  many  "  Patrick 
Sheehans "  in  the  county  for  that : — 

"  A  poor  neglected  mendicant 

I  wandered  through  the  street, 
My  nine  months'  pension  now  being  out, 
I  beg  from  all  I  meet."  ^ 

The  richness  of  the  soil  in  many  districts  of  Tipperary 
surpasses  anything  to  be  met  with  in  these  kingdoms,  and 
there  are  inevitably  a  number  of  comfortable  persons, 
traders  and  farmers,  in  the  county  of  the  Golden  Vale ; 
but  the  mental  and  spiritual  penury  of  those  people 
cannot  be  overstated,  I  should  be  inclined  to  say  that 
the  Tipperary  priests  are  the  richest  in  Ireland,  the 
absence  of  Regulars  making  for  their  aggrandisement. 
The  number  of  parish  priests  and  curates  in  the  diocese 
is  113;  there  are  1 4  priests  in  the  sacerdotal  college  at 
Thurles,  and  1 3  in  a  second  sacerdotal  college  kept  by 
the  priests  of  the  Holy  Ghost  at  Cashel ;  and  there  is 

Verses  by  Kickham,  the  Tipperary  poet-laureate,  breathing  a  spirit  of 
meanness  which  disgraces  Ireland.  The  song  about  Patrick  Sheehan,  a 
Tipperary  hero,  might  have  been  written  for  a  professional  beggar. 


THURLES  COLLEGE  487 

an  Augustinian  Friary  at  Fetliard,  in  which  there  are 
3  priests  admitted;  total,  143  priests.  There  are 
Christian  Brothers  at  Thiirles,  Doon,  Fethard,  Tip- 
perary,  Cashel,  and  Hospital.  The  following  powerful 
contingents  of  nuns  are  quartered  in  the  diocese : 
Ursulines  at  Thurles,  54;  Presentation  Nuns — at 
Thurles  38,  Ballingarry  21,  Cashel  38,  Fethard  19, 
Hospital  16;  Sisters  of  Mercy — at  Templemore  22,  at 
Tipperary  50,  Drangan  7,  Doon  19,  Thurles  8,  New 
Inn  12,  Cashel  6.  The  number  of  nuns  in  the  diocese  is 
given  at  322,  and  monks  24.^  I  do  not  know  how  many 
theological  students  there  are  at  the  Thurles  College,  but 
there  arc  2  5  burses  for  students  for  the  foreign  mission, 
to  encourage  young  Irishmen  to  become  priests  in 
Catholic  countries  where  the  natives  will  not  join  the 
sacerdotal  army.  The  inclusive  pension  for  boarders 
studying  at  this  college  for  the  Home  Mission  is  ^^3  3,  i  os., 
and  for  the  Foreign  Mission  ^^29,  los.,  but  the  free 
burses  reduce  the  Foreign  Mission  pensions  to  ;£^I9,  los., 
;^I4,  I  OS.,  or  £<^,  I  OS.  per  annum.  What  an  inducement 
to  a  lazy  youth  to  go  in  for  the  foreign  priesthood  ! 
What  a  chance  of  escape  from  the  spade  and  honest 
labour  a  pension  of  £<^,  i  os.  per  annum  for  board  and 
education  (?)  presents  to  youthful  "  Patrick  Sheehan 
from  the  Glen  of  Aherlow  !  "  I  shall  advisedly  put  down 
the  theological  students  of  all  stages,  at  Cashel  and 
Thurles,  at  100,  which  would  make  the  total  priests, 
nuns,  monks,  and  students  589.  There  are  four  female 
industrial  schools — at  Templemore,  Cashel,  Thurles,  and 
Tipperary — managed  by  nuns,  which  contained  2  5  i 
vagrant  girls  in  1900,  supported  at  a  cost  of  ^^44  50  to 
the  State— a  higher  pension  per  child  than  many  of 
the  students  for  the  foreign  mission  pay  at  Thurles  ! 
The  northern  portion  of  Tipperary  is  in  the  diocese 

^   Cathulic  Directory,  1902. 


488  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

of  Killaloe  ;  the  soutliern  portion  in  that  of  Waterford, 
with  which  I  shall  deal  presently.  In  1 8  6 1 ,  Tipperary 
had  a  population  of  249,106;  in  1 901,  its  population 
had  fallen  to  i  59,754 — a  loss  of  90,000  people  in  forty 
years,  due  partly  to  emigration  and  partly  to  religious, 
anti-marriage  associations. 

The  diocese  of  Waterford  comprises  the  whole  of 
county  Waterford  and  a  considerable  portion  of  South 
Tipperary ;  and  it  represents,  in  my  opinion,  the  lowest 
stage  of  progressive  civilisation  co-existent  with  great 
natural  opportunities  to  be  found  in  Ptoman  Catholic 
Ireland.  Waterford  is,  next  to  Dublin,  the  most 
priest-infested  territory  in  Ireland.  How  shall  I  count 
up  the  lists  of  male  and  female  religious  in  this  diocese, 
where  priests  accumulate  and  men  decay  ?  Like  the 
Kilkenny  people,  the  Waterford  frogs  croak  occasionally 
under  the  stone-pelting  of  the  priests.  They  too  re- 
turned a  Parnellite  member  as  a  protest  against  the 
species  of  extinction  known  as  smothering  by  priest. 
But  frogs  are  not  a  match  for  boys  with  stones  in  hand ; 
and  the  frogs  by  the  Suir  and  their  member,  Mr.  John 
Redmond,  have  long  since  re-collapsed  into  their  religi- 
ous mud-swamps.  Notwithstanding  their  omnipotence 
at  home,  the  sacerdotal  frog-pelters  of  the  Waterford 
diocese  are  looked  upon  as  very  poor,  small  beer  by 
the  authorities  in  Italy  who  rule  them.  The  Italians, 
on  the  last  two  occasions  on  which  the  bishopric  was 
vacant,  appointed  two  outsiders  to  the  see,  ignoring  the 
selections  of  the  Waterford  priests.  The  present  bishop 
was  a  curate,  for  instance,  in  a  city  parish  in  Cork  when 
he  was  suddenly  promoted  to  the  bishopric  of  Water- 
ford. Few  people  in  Waterford  knew  him  or  of  him  ;  but 
he  was  dubbed  "  beloved  "  and  "  revered  "  by  the  pom- 
pous-lazy citizens  of  the  "  Urbs  Intacta  "  five  minutes 
after  he  had  paid  toll  at  the  Bridge  of  Piles.     This 


A  WALK  THROUGH   WATERFORD       489 

recalcitrant,  priest-ridden,  historic  city  of  Waterford 
possesses  natural  advantages  unsurpassed  by  any  city 
or  town  in  Ireland.  It  is  the  most  convenient  gate 
of  the  south  through  which  the  produce  of  Ireland 
should  flow  across  to  the  densely-populated  mining 
resfions  of  Wales.  It  is  an  unrivalled  site  for  manu- 
factures.  The  Suir  is  as  fine  a  river  as  the  Foyle. 
Indeed,  if  Waterford  were  peopled  by  a  free  race,  it 
should  be  one  of  the  wealthiest  cities  in  Ireland  ;  while  if 
the  hinterland  behind  it  in  Tipperary  and  Kilkenny  were 
free,  it  might  be  one  of  the  happiest  and  wealthiest  towns 
in  the  United  Kingdom.  The  lack-life  air  of  Water- 
ford, with  its  26,764  inhabitants,  the  dirt  and  incompe- 
tence and  futility  which  are  its  predominant  features, 
when  contrasted  with  its  possibilities,  forcibly  illustrate 
for  the  thoughtful  and  sympathetic  Irishman  the  evils 
which  excessive  addiction  to  priest  brings  upon  our 
native  land.  A  walk  up  Barronstrand  Street,  Michael 
Street,  and  Broad  Street  on  a  Saturday  afternoon  is 
like  a  promenade  through  a  town  of  imbeciles.  No 
names  on  the  street  corners ;  shopkeepers  at  their 
doors,  with  hands  deep  in  trousers-pockets,  unable  to 
say  whether  they  live  in  Broad  Street  or  John  Street ; 
potatoes  and  turnips  lying,  as  if  they  were  never  to  be 
removed,  in  heaps  in  the  thoroughfares ;  dirt  trium- 
phant ;  filthy  Avomen  by  the  score,  bareheaded,  bare- 
footed, half  their  anatomies  showing  in  the  rents  of 
their  ragged  clothes  ;  drinking,  snuffing,  smoking,  spit- 
ting in  full  swing  everywhere ;  stagnant,  respectable- 
looking  people  staring  about  their  surroundings  as  if 
turned  to  stone ;  shops  unattended  to — I  walked  into 
three  shops  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour  and  knocked 
repeatedly  at  the  counter,  but  left  without  seeing  a 
human  being.  Since  last  I  had  visited  Waterford 
whole  families  of  Catholics,  at  that   time   well-to-do. 


490  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

had  melted  out  of  the  town.  Their  businesses  have  gone 
with  them.  Last  night  those  imbecile  expectorators 
of  John  Street  smashed  a  Salvation  Army  man  to 
pieces  in  the  street,  Avhile  respectably-dressed  men  spat 
in  the  faces  of  the  Salvation  Army  girls  !  This  is  the 
land  of  the  Priest  in  Power;  and  I  write  of  April  1902. 

Let  us  leave  the  stifling  aroma  of  this  priests'  "  forcing 
bed,"  as  Bishop  Foley  would  say,  and  go  down  to  the 
Quay  where  the  noble  Suir  flows,  beneath  Mount 
Misery  and  the  green  Kilkenny  shore,  as  it  did  before 
priest,  monk,  or  nun  was  heard  of.  What  a  noble  river  ! 
If  it  were  anywhere  else  in  North  Europe,  it  would  be 
spanned  by  a  bridge  or  bridges  as  noble  as  itself. 
But  the  devotees  of  Waterford  are  so  engrossed  by  the 
business  of  the  priests,  monks,  and  nuns,  let  in  between 
long  intervals  of  speech-making,  loafing,  Christian-maim- 
ing, retreat-making,  and  funeral- walking,  a  favourite 
Waterford  occupation,  that  they  could  not  bridge  a 
puddle,  much  less  the  Suir.  The  pig-dealers  of  Bally- 
bricken,  the  corporation,  the  harbour  commissioners, 
even  the  priests,  monks,  and  nuns  themselves,  with  all 
their  Red  Indian  pride,  have  to  make  obeisance  before 
the  publicans  who  sit  "  at  receipt  of  custom  "  on  the 
Bridge  of  Piles.  More  important  for  Waterford  than 
Horatius  was  for  Rome  when  he  held  the  bridge 
"  in  the  brave  days  of  old  "  is  the  English  or  Scotch 
firm,  as  the  case  may  be,  which  farms  the  Bridge  of 
Piles  under  a  triennial  contract. 

"  Oh,  the  last  company  were  so  laynient  and  so  agree- 
able to  the,  a,  citizens,  they  never  stopped  a  poor  woman 
on  her  way  to  the,  a,  city  if  she  hadn't  a  halfpenny 
about  her.      The  leeyut  (late)  company  was  so  nice  ! " 

"  Wan  ferrum  that  had  the  bridge  were  very  exact- 
ing, very  strict  entirely — martinets,  you  know — not  is 
much  is  an  infant  wouldn't  be  let  across  adout  pain'." 


THE  BRIDGE  AT  WATERFORD  491 

And  so  forth ;  they  will  spend  an  afternoon  discuss- 
ing the  bridge  with  you  if  you  are  prepared  to  listen. 
The  principal  railway  terminus,  communicating  with 
Dublin  and  the  entire  North,  West,  and  Midlands  of 
Ireland,  is  across  the  river.  Railway  companies  elect 
to  pay  a  fixed  sum  of  ;^2000  and  upwards  per  year  to 
the  Bridge  in  lieu  of  tolls ;  carrying  and  shipping  firms 
pay  annual  stipends  of  £1000  and  upwards  to  the 
Bridge.  The  hotels  possessing  buses  pay  one  or  two 
hundred  pounds  a  year  each  in  commutation  of  tolls  to 
the  Bridge.  I  cannot  help  spelling  it  with  a  capital 
letter — this  Bridge — in  presence  of  which  the  lazy,  lay 
dupes  and  clerical  bullies  of  Waterford  all  sing  dumb. 

The  dashing  jarvies  are  in  the  Mall — the  one  respect- 
able site  in  the  town — flicking  their  whips  and  causing 
their  horses  to  prance.  Their  shaft-points  are  on  a  level 
with  their  horses'  shoulders ;  their  traces  are  a  foot  too 
long ;  their  surnames — Flynn,  Hogan,  O'Hara,  Rourke, 
Maguire,  Sheehan,  and  so  forth^stand  out  in  large 
type  on  their  back  panels.  Off  dashes  Maguire  without 
a  fare,  leaving  the  meet  of  jarvies  on  the  Mall,  for  a 
scurry  through  the  aroma-laden  streets  of  the  hill-side. 
Up  steps  Flynn,  fareless,  after  a  similar  excursion.  A 
train  from  Dublin  is  due  at  the  terminus  across  the 
Bridge,  but  they  dare  not  go  to  meet  it,  for  the  toll 
both  ways  is  sixpence.  So  they  tame  their  hearts  of 
fire.  It  rains  three  days  out  of  four  in  Waterford  ;  but, 
except  the  hotel  buses,  there  is  not  a  covered  vehicle 
in  the  city.  And  often,  in  a  teeming  rain,  you  will  see 
Hogan,  Sheehan,  O'Hara,  Flynn,  and  the  rest  of  the 
jarvies  on  their  outside  cars  eagerly  looking  for  fares 
about  the  corner  of  Reginald's  Tower. 

Deluded  people  of  Waterford  !  they  are  so  busily 
engaged  in  maintaining  all  the  bridges  by  which  they 
hope  to  pass  from  Mount  Misery  to  heaven,  that  they 


492  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

have  no  energy  left  to  build  a  free  bridge  across  the 
Suir.  Poor  people,  the  religious  Bridges  by  which  they 
hope  to  cross  the  Styx  are  not  free  either ;  their  tolls 
are  far  higher  than  those  of  the  Bridge  of  Piles. 

Waterford  is  declining,  though  it  possesses  unsur- 
passed natural  advantages ;  but  its  sacerdotal  organisa- 
tion grows  and  prospers  exceedingly.  It  is  full  of 
sacerdotal  institutions,  all  in  flourishing  condition. 
Bishop  Sheehan  resides  at  John's  Hill,  and  has  under 
his  immediate  charge  St.  John's  College  for  the  edu- 
cation of  ecclesiastics,  which  "  receives  students  from 
all  parts  of  Ireland,  and  never  fails  to  provide  suitable 
mission  for  them."  There  is  the  De  La  Salle  Training 
College,  of  which  I  give  an  illustration,  subsidised  by 
Government,  and  managed  by  the  Christian  Brothers, 
for  the  "  training  "  of  National  Teachers.  The  other 
variety  of  Christian  Brothers  possesses  a  splendid 
establishment  at  Mount  Sion  and  Waterpark  College. 
The  Dominicans  and  Franciscans  possess  churches  and 
priories  in  the  town.  Bishop  Sheehan  is  President  of 
the  Lunatic  Asylum  and  Technical  Instruction  Com- 
mittee. The  Brothers  of  Charity  manage  Belmont 
Park  "  for  the  treatment  of  mentally-affected  gentle- 
men." Every  variety  of  religious  institution  is  to  be 
found  in  Waterford,  and  they  are  all  flourishing.  It  is 
only  the  town  itself  and  the  lay  Catholics  that  are 
decaying.  There  is  a  grand  Presentation  Convent  with 
2  5  admitted  nuns ;  a  convent  of  Little  Sisters  of  the 
Poor,  1 7  nuns — a  splendid  building  at  Manor  Hill ;  a 
convent  of  Sisters  of  Charity,  2 1  nuns ;  an  Ursuline 
Convent  with  y6  admitted  nuns,  who  consider  them- 
selves several  grades  above  all  their  sisters  in  religion 
in  Waterford ;  a  convent  of  Sisters  of  St.  John  of  God, 
with  2  2  admitted  nuns ;  and,  last  and  significant  appen- 
dage to  the  list,  a  convent  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  with  3  9 


THE   PRIEST  IN  WATERFORD  493 

nuns,  and  in  which  there  is  a  Magdalen  Asylum  with 
1 20  selected  inmates.  Associated  with  this  Magdalen 
Asylum,  and  conducted  by  the  same  nuns,  is  a  State- 
supported  "  industrial "  school,  drawing  ^3173,  9s.  gd. 
per  annum  of  public  money  for  its  170  vagrant  little 
girls.  I  do  not  think  it  is  right  that  an  "  indus- 
trial "  school  and  a  Magdalen  Asylum  should  be  con- 
ducted by  the  same  community  of  nuns.  There  are 
20  secular  and  8  regular  priests  admitted  in  the  city, 
beside  the  Christian  Brothers,  whose  strength  is  not 
given,  and  the  200  nuns.  In  the  rest  of  the  diocese, 
outside  the  city  of  Waterford,  there  are  the  Augus- 
tinians  at  Dungarvan ;  the  Cistercians  at  Mount  Melle- 
ray,  of  whose  place  I  give  an  illustration  in  this  volume, 
who  admit  a  community  of  a  Lord  Abbot,  28  priests, 
and  4  2  monks ;  Franciscans  at  Carrickbeg  and  Clonmel ; 
the  Order  of  Charity  at  Clonmel,  where  they  carry  on 
an  "industrial"  school,  and  draw  ^^2907,  4s.  lod.  per 
annum  for  it ;  Christian  Brothers  at  Carrick-on-Suir, 
Clonmel,  Dungarvan,  and  Lismore ;  Sisters  of  Charity, 
at  Clonmel  1 8  nuns,  and  Tramore  i  o  nuns ;  Sisters  of 
Mercy,  at  Cahir  52  nuns,  at  Cappoquin  23  nuns — they 
manage  an  industrial  school  in  this  town,  for  which 
they  draw  £1026,  2s.  3d.  per  annum;  at  Ardmore,  at 
Carrick-on-Suir  40  nuns,  at  Dungarvan  30  nuns,  at 
Dunmore  26  nuns,  at  Kilmacthomas  17  nuns,  at 
Portlaw  1 2  nuns,  at  Stradbally  1 6  nuns ;  Loreto  nuns 
at  Clonmel ;  and  Carmelite  nuns  at  Tallow.  All  these 
religious  houses  are  drawing  money  from  the  Govern- 
ment for  national  schools,  industrial  schools,  and 
technical  education  schools,  besides  legacies  and  sub- 
scriptions from  individuals. 

The  total  number  of  priests  in  the  diocese  is  given 
at  162  ;  there  are  10  monasteries  of  Brothers  whose 
strength  is  not  given,  but  which  we  may  put  down  at 


494  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

lOO,  as  they  own  some  very  large  establishments  here, 
and  2  2  convents  of  nuns  containing,  on  their  own 
admission,-^  575  professed  nuns.  Let  us  put  theological 
students  down  at  100  for  all  establishments,  regular  and 
secular,  and  we  shall  find  a  religious  army  of  about 
1000  persons  in  this  diocese,  without  counting  the 
subsidiary  religious  in  the  convents  and  elsewhere. 
But  we  must  add  to  this  total  all  the  lay  National 
Teachers  in  the  diocese  before  one  can  realise  the 
effective  forces  of  the  priest  in  Waterford — the  immense 
organisation  which  soaks  up  into  itself,  like  a  flaccid 
sponge,  all  the  energy  and  spirit  of  Roman  Catholic 
Waterford  and  South  Tipperary. 

The  maiming  of  the  poor  Salvation  Army  man  in- 
dicates the  spirit  of  the  urban  portion  of  this  priests* 
territory.  I  shall  now  give  an  instance  of  the  mental 
condition  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  rural  districts.  On 
the  night  of  the  30th  of  April  each  year  all  the  super- 
stitious Roman  Catholics  in  Tipperary  and  Waterford 
remain  up  all  night  watching  with  their  cows  lest  their 
enemies  should  come  in  the  small  hours  of  May  morn- 
ing to  bewitch  them,  and  thereby  spoil  the  milk  and 
butter  for  the  summer  season.  A  man  named  Russell 
— it  may  not  have  been  through  superstition,  but 
rather  for  the  protection  of  his  property — so  remained 
up  in  his  cowhouse  near  Ballyporeen  this  year."  At 
three  o'clock  in  the  morning  "  he  observed,  through 
the  dim  light,  a  man  with  a  flowing  beard  enter 
stealthily,  with  a  tin  vessel  in  his  hand,  and  proceed 
to  milk  one  of  the  cattle,  with  the  obvious  purpose  of 
bewitching  them.  He  was  just  beginning  his  myste- 
rious ceremonies  when  Russell  sprang  upon  him  and 
felled  him  to  the  ground."  Bravely  done,  Russell ! 
The  Clogheen  magistrates  sentenced  the  milk-thief  and 

^   Catholic  Directory,  1902.  ^  Evening  Herald,  May  5,  1902. 


BUTTER-MASSES   AND   CHARMS         495 

beAvitclier  to  three  months'  hard  labour,  which  was  also 
well  done.  But  the  most  serious  phase  of  this  question 
cannot  be  brought  before  the  magistrates.  All  round 
that  district,  in  the  three  counties  of  Waterford,  Tip- 
perary,  and  Cork,  the  farmers  pay  the  priests  to  say 
masses  in  their  houses  during  the  month  of  May  to 
keep  away  the  evil  spirits  from  their  cattle  and  make 
the  milk  of  their  cows  fruitful  in  butter.  I  know  a 
parish  in  the  diocese  of  Cloyne  which  adjoins  Water- 
ford  diocese,  not  far  from  this  spot,  in  which  the  priests 
boasted  that  they  had  not  time  to  celebrate  all  the 
butter  masses,  for  the  celebration  of  which  they  were 
paid  in  May  this  year.  Russell  adopted  much  more 
effective  and  cheaper  means  for  keeping  away  the  evil 
spirits  than  the  mass-buying  hundreds.  Some  years 
ago  the  country  was  full  of  charmers,  who  set  chariiis 
and  counter-charms  to  destroy  the  enemy's  butter  or  to 
protect  the  butter  of  the  person  employing  the  charmer. 
The  priests  used  to  denounce  the  charmer,  not  solely  to 
extirpate  superstition,  for  they  get  for  their  own  masses 
a  fee  which  is  ten  times  as  large  as  that  which  the 
poor  charmer  or  herb-doctor  used  to  get  for  setting 
his  charm.  In  the  Ball}^adlea  wife-burning  tragedy 
both  the  priest  was  called  in  to  say  his  mass  and  the 
charmer  or  herb-doctor  to  prescribe  for  poor  Bridget 
Cleary.^  The  magistrates  or  the  secular  arm — as  the 
phrase  was  in  Spain — can  do  nothing  to  help  those  who 
pay  for  masses  to  keep  away  the  fairies  and  evil  spirits 
and  make  their  milk  fruitful.  But  the  mass-buyers  re- 
present a  state  of  mind  even  more  hopeless  than  that 
of  the  charm-sellers,  while  their  butter  is  getting  more 
and  more  unmarketable  every  year !  What  could  be 
worse  than  to  re-enact  the  sacrifice  of  Calvary  under 
the  pretence  that  an  Irish  peasant  -will  thereby  procure 
a  few  extra  firkins  of  butter  from  his  milk  ? 

^  "Five  Years  iu  Ireland." 


496  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

Now,  contrast  the  state  of"  things  in  Waterford  with 
the  brightness,  happiness,  and  contented  industry  of 
Coleraine  in  the  north  of  Derry : — 

"  As  beaiitiful  Kitty  one  morning  was  tripping 

With  a  pitcher  of  milk  from  the  fair  of  Coleraine, 

When  slie  saw  me  she  stumbled. 

The  pitcher  it  tumbled, 
And  all  the  sweet  butter-milk  watered  the  plain  ! " 

Imagine  a  Church  of  Ireland  clergyman  suddenly 
translated  from  Coleraine  to  the  bishopric  of  Waterford 
— at  once  a  promotion  and  a  descent — and  finding 
himself  morally  stunned  by  what  he  sees  in  the  land 
of  the  Suir.  A  transition  from  bracing  mountain 
breezes  to  an  atmosphere  of  pigsty  and  opium  den 
combined  could  not  produce  greater  physical  prostra- 
tion than  the  mental  stupefaction  born  of  a  leap  from 
the  Bann  to  the  Suir.  Imagine  this  Protestant  bishop 
returning  to  Coleraine,  and  in  his  own  church,  of  which 
I  understand  his  father  had  also  been  rector,  speak- 
ing spontaneously  to  his  own  sensible  and  industrious 
people.  Who  can  censure  him  if  he  tells  them  that 
he  now  knows  "how  happy,  comparatively,  are  the 
lives  of  such  as  live  in  a  parish  like  Coleraine,  and 
how  pleasant,  comparatively,  are  their  surroundings  "  ? 
Who  can  marvel  if,  in  the  privacy  of  his  native  church, 
he  goes  on  to  say  that  "  at  present  he  was  placed  in 
a  part  of  the  country  where  theu-  people  were  very 
few,  a  country  overshadowed  by  a  dark  cloud  of 
ignorance  and  superstition,  a  country  made  miserable 
by  senseless  and  wicked  agitation,"  and  to  describe 
"  how  their  little  flock  in  the  Protestant  churches  had 
to  struggle  for  bare  existence  " — why,  I  ask,  may  he 
not  say  all  that  ?  It  is  all  true,  and  a  great  deal  more 
besides.  And  he  was  reported  to  have  added  :  "  In  the 
North,  they  lived  in  freedom  and  liberty,  none  daring 


BISHOP  O'HARA  497 

to  make  them  afraid."  All  this  was  reported  in  the 
well-edited  papers  of  the  North,  as  well  as  the  following 
concluding  sentence :  "  Wo  all  understand,  and  most 
of  us  feel,  the  absence  of  division  in  the  Roman  Church 
is  the  one  thing  which  keeps  it  from  entirely  being 
destroyed  by  its  corruptions,  its  absurdities,  and  its 
tyrannies." 

I  endorse  those  words  of  Bishop  O'Hara.  There  are 
corruptions,  absurdities,  and  tyrannies  in  our  Church 
in  Ireland  to-day  under  a  veneer  of  unity.  If  Bishop 
O'Hara  had  proclaimed  these  lamentable  truths  offen- 
sively in  Waterford,  it  would  have  been  tactless; 
but,  in  his  native  Coleraine,  250  miles  away  from 
Waterford,  in  his  own  and  his  father's  pulpit,  he 
was  justified  in  speaking  spontaneously.  If  the  local 
papers  reported  him,  that  was  their  affair,  not  Bishop 
O'Hara's. 

The  reference  to  the  unity  in  our  Church  reminds 
me  of  what  a  very  acute  Scotch  thinker  once  wrote 
on  that  subject  :  "  When  one  man  only  in  the  world 
is  permitted  to  think,  and  the  rest  are  compelled  to 
agree  with  him,  unity  sliould  be  of  as  easy  attainment 
as  it  is  worthless  when  attained."  ^ 

When  the  news  was  conveyed  to  Waterford  by  some 
ill-conditioned  mischief-maker  —  doubtless  an  Ulster 
priest — all  municipal  and  public  business  in  Waterford 
was  brought  to  a  standstill.  The  "  revered  "  Catholic 
bishop  sounded  the  tocsin  of  war.  The  tolls  at  the 
Bridge  of  Piles  were  for  the  moment  forgotten  by  the 
sons  of  Mount  Misery.  Corporations,  harbour  boards, 
technical  instruction  committees,  lunatic  asylums, 
boards  of  guardians  all  met  to  consider  the  situation. 
They  reeled  like  a^^cow  in  a  scrimmage  at  a  fair  struck 
between  the  eyes  by  a  cattle-dealer's  ashplant.     They 

'  Dr.  Wylie's  "Papacy." 

2  I 


498  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

asked  the  bishop  "  to  say "  that  what  he  had  been 
reported  to  have  said  was  not  what  he  said.  Oh,  Lf 
he  would  only  "  say  "  so  !  There  was  sacerdotal  money 
from  Government  hanging  in  the  balance.  Tears  must 
have  welled  up  in  the  eyes  of  the  575  nuns  of  Water- 
ford  ;  curses  must  have  been  smothered  on  the  lips  of 
the  162  priests;  sighs  must  have  evaporated  from  the 
Christian  Brothers  !  Oh,  oh,  the  Government  money  ! 
Oh,  the  scandal !  Say,  oh,  say  that  you  did  not  say  so, 
Bishop  O'Hara  !  Thus  the  matter  stood  for  days.  Oh, 
the  scandal !     Oh,  the  money  ! 

Then  Bishop  O'Hara,  as  if  in  commiseration,  wrote 
a  letter  declining  to  be  judged  by  an  imperfect  news- 
paper report,  more  or  less  discrediting  the  report,  and 
stating  that  he  did  not  refer  to  Waterford  particularly. 
Then  they  proceeded  to  rend  him.  "  Tally-ho  !  "  cried 
the  priestly  huntsmen.  And  the  lay  pack,  those  idlers 
set  on  by  the  priests,  chivied  him  in  their  corporations, 
urban  and  district  councils,  lunatic  asylums,  technical 
education  committees,  and  boards  of  guardians  !  How 
they  gave  tongue !  Because  he  partially  yielded,  and 
thereby  saved  the  position  for  them,  they  now  insisted 
that  he  should  write  to  the  northern  papers  publicly 
denying  his  words.  That  was  the  episcopally-sanctioned 
penance.  And  the  pious  Catholics  at  the  wrong  side 
of  the  Bridsfe  continued  to  denounce  him  at  all  their 
boards;  until  Bishop  O'Hara,  perceiving  the  charac- 
ter of  his  assailants,  made  a  speech  standing  by  what 
he  had  said  in  Coleraine,  and  refusing  to  withdraw  or 
apologise.^  The  Protestant  business  people  dissociated 
themselves  from  him.  But,  then,  business  people  must 
be  "  men-pleasers  "  ;  they  are  not  evangelists.  Christ, 
as  man,  was  not  a  business  man. 

Still,  let  the  Protestants  of  Ireland  take  heed  that 

^  Freeman,  June  12,  1902. 


.#lft 


'^^i'j 


n 


Lawrence. 


Waterford  Cathedral,  Interior 


"They  are  so  busily  encased  in  maintaining  all  the  bridges  by  wliich  they  hope  to  pass 
I'rom  Mount  Misery  to  heaven,  that  they  have  no  energy  left  to  build  a  free  bridge  across 
the  Suir"  (p.  492). 


Lnwrencc. 


The  Dominican  Chapel,  Waterford 


'  Waterford  is  declining,  though  it  possesses  unsurpassed  natural  advantages  ;  but  its 
sacerdotal  organisation  grows  and  prospers  exceedingly"  (p.  492)- 


TO   IRISH   PROTESTANTS  499 

if  they  lower   their  standard   they  will   be  devoured. 
Protestantism  in  Ireland,  as  in  all  North  Europe  and 
North  America,  enjoys  what  it  possesses  by  sheer  dint 
of  industry,  ability,  and  good  living.     Those  qualities 
are   the  dominant   note  of  Protestantism  everywhere. 
The  Protestants  of  Ireland,  too,  may  rest  safely  on  that 
bedrock.     But,  Avhen  once  they  begin  to  lower  their 
Hag,  desert   their   principles,  and   temporise   with   the 
priests — for  it  is  the  priests,  not  the  people,  that  are 
their  opponents — from  that  instant  they  may  abandon 
all  hope  of  continuing  to  live  in  Ireland.     Let  them 
educate  their  children  to  live  elsewhere.     The  existing 
generation  of  Protestants,  after  the  surrender,  may  eke 
out  a  dishonoured  existence  by  sufferance  here;   but 
their  children  will   inevitably  have  to  go.      Darkness 
and  light  cannot  amalgamate  for  ever  in  these  latitudes ; 
the  present  twilight  must  soon  come  to  an  end ;  and 
then  there  will  be  day  or  night.     In  my  opinion,  the 
brightest   light  in   Ireland   will   have    left    it,  if    and 
when  the  Protestants  so. 

^  Think  not  that  High  Church  and  Ritual  will  con- 
ciliate the  priests.  They  despise  the  High  Church 
parson,  rightly  or  wrongly,  as  an  imitator  of  them- 
selves ;  they  hate,  but  they  fear  and  respect  also,  the 
old-fashioned  Protestants  who  have  never  made  and 
will  not  make  any  concession  of  principle  to  please 
them. 

Resolutions  were  next  passed  threatening  Bishop 
O'Hara  that  if  he  ever  dared  show  himself  at  a  public 
board  "his  presence  would  be  treated  with  the  con- 
tempt it  deserved."  And  the  Bishop  resigned  his  posi- 
tion on  the  Lunatic  Asylum  and  Technical  Education 
committees.  Then  the  Waterford  priests  and  people 
summonedj  a  public/,  indignation  meeting  to  denounce 
him    in    unmeasured    terms;    and    a    more    discredit- 


500  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

able  exhibition  of  civic  incapacity,  of  unfitness  to 
rule,  than  the  proceedings  at  that  public  meeting  it 
would  be  impossible  to  find.  They  denounced  the 
Great  Southern  and  Western  Railway  at  this  demon- 
stration as  well  as  Bishop  O'Hara.  But  not  a  word  did 
they  say  about  the  Bridge.  None  of  them  could  ever 
tell  when  they  might  want  a  little  credit  at  that  im- 
pregnable popular  barrier. 

Father  O'Donnell,  one  of  the  speakers  at  the  indigna- 
tion meeting,  is  reported  as  having  said :  ^  "  The  Great 
Southern  and  Western  Railway  was  owned  by  Catholics. 
Well,  the  fact  remained  that  every  director  was  a  Pro- 
testant with  the  exception  of  two.  An  official  of  the 
company,  holding  a  high  place,  finds  time  to  attend  to 
a  Protestant  orphanage  in  Dublin  from  which  he  feeds 
the  line,  and  Catholics  are  sent  about  their  business. 
A  few  weeks  ago  the  station-master  at  Dungarvan  died. 
He  was  speaking  to  a  gentleman  the  other  day  and 
said  he  would  bet  ten  to  one  that  a  Protestant  would 
be  appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy.  What  was  the  fact  ? 
The  Protestant  was  there  now." 

Father  O'Donnell  may  ham  been  betting  with  "  a 
gentleman."  But  I  cannot  imagine  anything  more 
prejudicial  to  the  interests  of  a  raihvay  company  than 
such  conduct  on  the  part  of  priests.  The  shareholders 
are  bound  to  suffer  for  it.  Such  language  is  also  fatal, 
in  a  wider  sense,  to  the  prospects  of  lay  Catholics.  If  it 
be  persevered  in  and  encouraged  by  the  lay  Catholics 
themselves,  all  prosperous  firms  will  be  compelled,  in 
self-protection,  to  refuse  to  appoint  Catholics  to  any 
position  of  trust.  A  railway  company  should,  I  think, 
be  protected  from  such  attacks  by  priests,  and  by  public 
boards  under  priestly  influence. 

The  particular  railway  inveighed  against  is  doing  its 

^  Freeman,  June  14,  190:2. 


THE  PRIESTS  AND  RAILWAYS  501 

best  to  serve  the  commercial  interests  of  Munster.  At 
present  it  is  engaged,  in  conjunction  with  the  Great 
Western  Railway  of  England,  in  a  great  scheme  for  the 
closer  union  of  the  South  of  Ireland  with  Wales  and 
the  South  of  England — a  project  which,  if  given  fair 
play,  will  bring  millions  of  South  Welshmen  to  spend 
their  holidays  in  Ireland,  and  speedily  convey  millions 
of  pounds  worth  of  Irish  produce  to  South  Welsh 
mining  centres.  Let  the  farmers  of  Cork,  Waterford, 
Kilkenny,  and  Tipper ary  produce  the  goods  and  put 
them  on  board  the  train,  the  new  route  will  deliver 
them  cheaply  and  expeditiously  in  Glamorganshire  to 
compete  with  the  foreign  produce  at  present  used  there. 
New  harbours  are  beino^  constructed  at  Rosslare  in  the 
south-eastern  corner  of  Wexford  and  at  Fishguard  in 
Pembrokeshhe ;  a  new  railAvay  is  being  built  from 
Rosslare  to  Waterford,  including  a  ;6^  10 5, 000  viaduct 
across  the  Barrow  ;  a  contribution  of  -^50,000  to  a  free 
bridge  across  the  Suir  at  Waterford  has  been  offered  by 
the  railway  company  which  we  have  heard  denounced  ! 
New  first-class  packet  steamers  will  ply  daily  across 
the  channel.  Waterford  will  be  within  nine  houjs' 
journey  of  London  !  Such  are  some  of  the  enterprises 
carried  to  an  advanced  stage  by  the  railway  company 
which  an  intolerant  Irish  priesthood  are  doing  their 
utmost  to  embarrass. 

Could  a  railway  be  profitably  worked  if  priests  were 
allowed  to  manage  it  ?  Trains  would  not  run  on 
Saints'  Days  until  after  last  mass.  Station-masters 
would  be  absent  without  leave  making  novenas  to 
St.  Anthony  of  Padua ;  and,  in  explanation,  they  would 
hand  an  episcopal  dispensation  to  the  directors. 
Shrines  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  or  St.  Blaise,  at  which 
candles  bought  at  two  for  a  farthing  would  be  retailed 
at  any  price  from  a  penny  to  a  pound  apiece,  would 


502  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

then  take  the  place  of  penny-in-the-slot  machines  at 
the  stations,  and  would  do  an  immense  trade  in  in- 
surance against  travelling  risks.  The  risks  would  be 
considerable  on  a  priest-managed  railway,  beyond  a 
doubt.  During  Lent  and  Advent  whole  railway  station 
staffs  would  be  "  drunk  with  the  hunger  "  from  the  fasts 
which  apply  to  everything  but  intoxicating  liquor ! 
And,  oh,  would  there  not  be  free  tickets  and  reduced 
fares  and  all  sorts  of  railway  dispensations  for  the  holy 
bishops,  priests,  monks,  and  nuns  ?  And  special  rates 
for  statues  and  lavabos  and  all  the  other  sacerdotal 
plant  which  our  Dublin  Catholic  booksellers  now 
advertise  in  lieu  of  books — they  are  so  much  more 
in  demand  in  Catholic  Ireland  ? 

At  a  railway  station  in  South  Italy  quite  lately  a 
friar  asked  the  station-master  for  a  ticket  to  Loreto, 
saying  that  he  had  no  money  to  pay  for  it,  and  the 
station-master  refused.  Lo,  when  the  guard's  whistle 
was  blown  and  the  driver  lifted  his  lever,  the  train 
refused  to  move,  to  the  consternation  of  all  concerned. 
A  "  well-dressed  gentleman "  on  the  platform  at  once 
paid  the  friar's  fare,  and  the  holy  priest  stepped  into 
the  train ;  which,  thereupon,  instantly  moved  off  with- 
out a  hitch.  At  Loreto  the  "  well-dressed  gentleman  " 
accosted  the  penniless  friar  with  a  smile,  and  dis- 
appearing, said,  "  I  go  to  my  Mother  ! "  A  brochure, 
containing  particulars  of  the  incident,  was  widely 
circulated  in  South  Italy,  inculcating  the  doctrine  that 
the  "  gentleman "  must  have  been  our  Saviour ;  and 
that  station-masters  should  never  refuse  free  tickets 
to  friars  going  to  Loreto  !  And  wo  are  told  the  miracle 
occupied  the  attention  of  the  Italian  dagoes  "  until 
the  next  stabbing  affray  in  the  streets "  gave  them 
other  food  for  reflection. 

Father  O'Donnell,  pursuing  his  crusade  and  extend- 


CARDINAL  VAUGHAN'S  PRIESTS        503 

ing  its  scope,  publicly  denoimced  the  Provincial  Bank 
of  Ireland  on  similar  grounds  a  fortnight  later.^ 

Oh,  Sir  Henry  Canipbell-Bannerinan  and  Mr.  John 
Morley,  who  would  still  give  us  Home  Rule  because 
the  "  spectre  of  eighty  votes  "  rises  to  affright  you  in 
the  House  of  Commons,  why  do  you  not  foresee  what  I 
foresee  ?  Would  it  not  be  wiser  to  lay  the  spectre — 
to  throttle  it  as  Russell  of  Ballyporeen  throttled  the 
milk-thief — than  to  submit  to  it  ?  May  you  take  heart 
of  grace.  Lord  Rosebery,  and  save  us  from  the  priest ! 

It  is  from  Waterford  that  Cardinal  Vaughan  draws 
his  priests  for  the  new  cathedral  at  Westminster : 
"  This  morning,  after  eight  o'clock  mass  at  the  Cathe- 
dral, his  lordship,  the  Most  Rev.  Dr.  Sheehan,  Bishop 
of  Waterford,  ordained  the  following,  amongst  other 
priests,  for  their  various  stations :  Father  William 
O'Neill,  Westminster ;  Father  Jeremiah  Deady,  West- 
minster ;  Rev.  John  Caulfield,  Westminster."  ^  We 
are  informed  in  the  Roman  Catholic  intelligence  of 
the  English  press  ^  that  an  anonymous  donor  presented 
to  Cardinal  Vaughan,  "  through  the  court  jewellers,"  a 
gold  monstrance,  value  £1000,  for  his  new  cathedral 
at  Westminster.  The  insinuation  that  the  King  made 
this  present  may  be  true  or  false — I  believe  it  to  be 
false — but  even  if  the  King  did  present  him  with 
the  monstrance,  there  is  one  gift  which  no  power 
in  England  can  confer  on  him,  and  that  is  a  staff  of 
English-born  priests,  the  sons  of  respectable,  working 
English  parents,  to  officiate  for  him.  It  is  to  Water- 
ford he  must  come  for  his  humanity,  though  he  may 
obtain  a  little  gold  in  England  from  the  tolerant  and 
polite  people  who  do  not  acknowledge  his  pretensions 
and  find  him,  I  feel  sure,  a  sucking-dove  for  affability 

'  Freeman,  July  i,  1902.  '^  Ibid.,  June  16,  1902. 

*  Daily  Mail,  June  14,  1902. 


504  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

and  humility  at  their  "  Article  Club "  dinners  and 
other  functions. 

A  few  days  after  these  occurrences  it  was  publicly 
announced  that  "  the  Waterford  corporation  had  de- 
cided to  abandon  the  electric  lighting  scheme,  and  that 
difficulty  was  likely  to  arise  in  connection  with  the 
money  required  to  finish  the  main  drainage  scheme."  ^ 

In  1 8  7 1 ,  when  the  city  and  county  of  Waterford  had 
a  population  of  123,310,  the  Roman  Catholic  religious 
organisation  consisted  of  3  8  8  priests,  monks,  nuns,  and 
theological  students.^  To-day,  when  the  population  has 
decreased  to  87,030,  a  loss  of  36,280  people  in  thirty 
years,  the  priests,  monks,  nuns,  and  students  principally 
on  their  own  admission,  and  to  a  small  extent,  on  my 
computation,  and  deducting  228  priests,  monks,  and 
nuns  in  the  Tipperary  part  of  the  diocese,  number  759!^ 

Tipperary  in  1871  had  a  population  of  216,713, 
and  its  priests,  monks,  nuns,  and  students  then  num- 
bered 403."  To-day,  when  its  population  has  fallen  to 
159,754,  a  loss  of  56,959  people,  its  sacerdotal  service, 
calculated  on  the  same  basis,  and  excluding  all  but 
the  Tipperary  priests,  monks,  and  nuns  in  the  three 
dioceses  of  Cashel,  Waterford,  and  Killaloe,  number  949  ! 

In  bare  numbers  the  sacerdotal  service  has  increased 
over  1 00  per  cent,  in  the  two  counties,  while  in  expen- 
siveness  it  must  have  increased  200  or  300  per  cent. ; 
and  meantime  the  people  have  become  93,239  fewer 
than  in  1 8  7 1 . 

^  Freeman,  June  26,  1902.  ^  "  Census  of  Ireland,"  1871. 

2  The  accuracy  of  my  forecast  was  remarkable.  The  number 
admitted  in  the  census  returns,  published  since  the  appearance  of  the 
first  edition,  is  761. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

IN    THE    PROVINCE    OF    MUNSTER (cOlltinued) 

"  Tis  there  the  lover  may  hear  the  dove,  or 
The  gentle  plover  in  the  afternoon." 

Cork  is  the  largest  county  in  Ireland,  a  small  kingdom 
in  itself,  i  lo  miles  long  from  east  to  west,  and  70 
miles  wide  from  north  to  south.  In  the  centre  of  its 
coastline  is  the  famous  harbour,  admitted  to  be  the 
finest  in  the  world.  The  shores  of  Cork  are  indented 
by  a  thousand  bays  and  estuaries,  and  more  than  a 
thousand  islands  lie  outside  its  coast.  Under  happier 
circumstances  this  glorious  county  would  be  eagerly 
frequented  by  British  and  American  travellers  in  search 
of  health,  rest,  balmy  air,  and  lovely  scenery.  The 
unrivalled  harbour  instead  of  being  deserted  Avould  be 
alive  with  shipping.  Instead  of  reflecting  the  barren 
stones  of  a  cathedral  which  is  of  no  use  to  any  one, 
except  the  priests,  and  which  the  poor  people  have 
been  struggling  for  forty  years  to  finish,  a  forest  of 
masts  should  tower  over  its  vast  expanse  from  Camden 
to  Haulbowline,  from  Corkbeg  to  Crosshaven,  and  the 
hillsides  of  Cove  should  teem  with  happy  people. 

On  the  contrary,  the  population  of  Cork  has  fallen 
from  517,076  in  1 871,  to  404,813  in  1901,  a  loss  of 
1 12,263  in  thirty  years. 

The  city  of  Cork,  which  ought  to  be  as  great  a  centre 
of  life  in  the  south  as  Belfast  is  in  the  north,  has 
nothing  but  deterioration  to  show  for  itself  during  the 
past  fifty  years ;  no  expansion ;  no  partnership  in  the 


506  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

world's  progress ;  no  new  industries  or  trade ;  no  in- 
crease of  population,  but,  on  the  contrary,  a  decrease 
from  80, 1 2 1  to  7 5,978.  The  only  solid  signs  of  linger- 
ing life  which  Cork  has  evinced  are  to  be  found  in  the 
growth  of  ecclesiasticism,  for  its  politics  are  only  vapour. 
And  to  such  an  extent  has  sacerdotalism  grown  in 
Cork  that  the  Catholic  city  now  consists,  in  the  first 
place,  of  the  priests,  monks,  and  nuns,  and  their 
gorgeous  buildings,  occupying  all  the  best  sites ;  and 
then,  loyigo  intervallo,  of  the  lay  Catholic  people  who 
seem  delighted  at  being  suffered  to  live. 

Cork  ought  to  be  the  counterpoise  of  Belfast  and 
mistress  of  the  seas,  instead  of  being  a  degenerate 
county  town.  There  is  nothing  but  the  difference  of 
religion  to  explain  the  deterioration  of  Cork  and  the 
advance  of  Belfast.  The  priest  is  in  power  in  Cork ;  he 
is  monarch  of  the  city.  The  priest  is  in  the  shade  in 
Belfast,  occupying,  in  regard  to  the  general  community, 
the  place  to  which  his  capacity  and  utility  entitle  him. 
In  Belfast  the  people  who  allow  their  children's  minds 
to  be  crippled  by  the  priest  are  in  a  minority ;  and 
they  are,  as  I  have  shown,  dwindling  in  relative  civic 
importance.  In  Cork  those  Avhose  mental  development 
has  been  thwarted  by  the  priest  are  in  the  vast  majority, 
but  they  are  decaying  no  less  than  the  Belfast  minority. 
The  universal  cause  operates  impartially  north,  south, 
east,  and  west,  and  all  over  the  world. 

It  is  mind  that  counts,  and  the  priest  will  not  have 
mind,  for  mind  and  priest  cannot  thrive  in  the  same 
soil.  Either  mind  will  flourish  and  priest  decay,  or 
priest  will  triumph  and  mind  will  rot. 

Let  us  contrast  the  city  in  which  the  priest  is  in 
power  with  the  city  in  which  the  priest  is  in  his  proper 
place.  In  1861  Belfast  had  a  population  of  121,602, 
and  its  ratable  property  was  ;^279,8o7  ;  in  190 1  its 


CORK  AND   BELFAST  507 

population  was  -348,876,  and  its  ratable  property 
;^ 1, 1 92,48 5  !  In  1 86 1  Cork  had  80,121  people,  now 
it  has  only  75,978,  and  the  valuation  of  its  property 
is  only  ;^  15  2,070;  that  is  to  say,  its  population  has 
sunk  to  not  much  more  than  one-fifth,  and  the  value 
of  its  property  to  about  one-eighth  of  that  of  Belfast. 

The  shipping  of  Cork  harbour  is  a  diminishing 
quantity,  fallen  from  a  very  large  tigure,  and  still  falling 
year  by  year.  In  1898  the  tonnage  entering  inwards 
was  709,251;  in  1899  it  was  679,965;  in  1900  it 
was  661,782.  In  the  port  of  Belfast  the  tonnage  of 
the  vessels  entering  inward  increased  from  1,201,306 
in  1868  to  2,325,836  in  1900.  The  vessels  which 
cleared  outwards  from  Belfast  in  1900  represented 
1,600,056  tons;  those  clearing  outwards  from  Cork 
that  year  represented  only  392,263  tons.  Even 
Waterford  excelled  Cork  in  this  department,  its 
tonnage  cleared  outwards  being  396,764. 

Fif"ty  years  ago  Cork  had  a  healthy  shipbuilding 
industry  at  Passage,  where  a  thriving  race  of  ship- 
carpenters  were  to  be  found  at  a  time  when  only  a 
hundred  hands  were  employed  in  the  shipbuilding  yard 
of  Harland  &  Wolff  (or  as  it  was  then,  Hickson  &  Co.) 
of  Belfast.  At  that  time.  Father  Prout,  a  priest  suffi- 
ciently enlightened  to  be  a  friend  of  Thackeray's,  an 
extinct  species  in  Ireland  to-day,  descanted  proudly  on 

"  The  nymphs  of  Passage, 
Plump  as  a  sausage. 
And  Carrigaloe  on  the  other  side." 

Alas,  Passage  to-day  is  like  a  picked  bone,  staring 
across  gauntly  at  a  sheer  hulk  or  two  beached  upon 
the  Carrigaloe  shore  !  Whereas,  Harland  &  Wolffs  yard 
at  Belfast  employs,  not  100  hands  but  10,000  hands, 
and  has  become  the  largest  shipbuilding  establishment 


5o8  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

in  the  world ;  and  a  new  firm,  Messrs.Workman  &  Clark, 
established  in  1879,  employs  over  3000  hands  ! 

All  these  years  the  priest  of  Cork  has  been  coming 
out  of  his  shell,  building  his  cathedrals,  churches,  con- 
vents, priories,  friaries,  monasteries,  Magdalen  asylums, 
"  industrial "  schools  and  reformatories,  cultivating  a 
trade  in  the  poorhouses,  the  jails,  the  lunatic  asylums — 
and,  worst  of  all  for  the  country,  in  the  schools.  He 
has  been  amassing  money  while  the  laity,  perplexed  by 
his  mischievous  religious  and  secular  teaching,  have 
been  decreasing  in  numbers  and  losing  ground.  For 
the  past  half  century,  while  all  the  United  Kingdom 
has  been  growing,  Cork  has  not  profited  in  any  shape 
or  form  by  its  great  natural  advantages.  It  has  erected 
religiosity  and  mendicancy  on  a  pinnacle  before  which 
it  bows  down  and  worships,  and  the  poor,  beautiful  city 
"  has  its  reward."  The  priest-educated  Catholic  citizens 
of  Cork  are,  in  the  aggregate,  men  without  minds. 
They  are  my  own  people,  and  it  is  not  cheerfully  that 
I  write  thus  of  them.  They  have  natural  qualities  and 
inherent  mental  abilities  which,  if  suffered  to  develop 
freely  under  enlightening  direction,  would  advance 
them  to  the  fi*ont  rank  of  humanity  without  leaving 
their  native  country.  They  have  faults,  but  I  shall 
not  point  them  out,  for  they  suffer  enough  without  an 
added  pang  from  me.  I  would  not  willingly  hurt  their 
sensitiveness ;  but  neither  could  I  wrong  them  by  praise 
when  only  censure  is  deserved. 

I  express  what  hundreds  of  thousands  of  Cork 
people  themselves  think ;  and  I  would  gladly  suffer 
any  personal  loss,  even  that  of  life  itself,  if  I  could 
turn  my  native  county  off  the  road  to  ruin,  upon  which 
it  has  been  travelling  since  the  priest  awoke,  under 
Italian  inspiration,  fifty  years  ago  after  the  collapse  of 
the  'forty-eight  movement. 


CORK  IS   NOT  WHAT   IT  SEEMS        509 

Having  said  so  much  of  the  city  and  county  at  large, 
let  us  now  come  to  close  quarters  with  the  priest  in 
Cork,  and  endeavour  to  realise  his  position.  The  three 
dioceses  of  Cork,  Cloyne,  and  Ross  are  within  the  con- 
fines of  the  county.  The  diocese  of  Cork  consists  of 
the  city,  and  a  central  tract  of  the  county  adjacent  to 
it;  the  diocese  of  Cloyne  covers  the  greater  portion  of 
the  county,  almost  completely  enveloping  the  diocese 
of  Cork ;  and  the  small  diocese  of  Ross  consists  of  the 
south-western  corner  of  the  county. 

The  Cork  people  in  many  respects  excel  those  of  all 
the  other  counties  of  Ireland  in  the  art  of  keeping  up 
appearances.  The  city  is  presentable  and  pleasant  to 
look  upon,  and  every  individual  in  the  city  and  county 
"  fancies  himself,"  to  use  the  Dublin  vernacular.  To 
a  stranger  who  knows  nothing  about  it,  an  excursion 
to  Cork,  a  drive  to  Blarney,  a  sail  down  the  river  to 
Queenstown  and  around  the  harbour,  are  all  delightful. 
The  inquiring  mind  might  ask,  as  Edison  did  in  Paris, 
"  What  do  these  sauntering  Cork  people  do  for  their 
living  ? "  But  atrabilious  indeed  must  be  the  man  who 
could  fail  to  admire  the  scenery.  The  Cork  people 
admire  it  to  excess.  Nay  more,  they  take  credit  them- 
selves for  it,  and  regard  its  creeks,  hills,  and  islands  in 
somewhat  the  same  light  as  a  Belfast  man  regards  his 
new  City  Hall  or  Public  Library,  or  the  latest  leviathan 
launched  from  Queen's  Island.  Glorious,  it  must  be 
owned,  is  Rocky  Island  and  the  terraced  hillside  of 
Queenstown,  and  the  deep  calm  channel  in  which  the 
guard-ship  rides  before  the  thresholds  of  the  lazy 
shopkeepers  on  the  Beach.  But  it  seldom  occurs  to 
the  Cork  men  that  then  did  not  make  them  so.  It  was 
God  who  did  all  that  for  them :  and  they  have  added 
nothing  to  His  gifts. 

Things,  therefore,  lool-  better  than  they  are  in  Cork. 


510  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

Bishop  O'Callaghan  from  his  cathedral  near  the  Bells 
of  Shandon  looks  down  upon  a  people  whom  he  might 
horsewhip  with  impunity,  if  he  were  energetic  enough 
to  do  so.  Indeed,  his  subordinates  horsewhip  or  cuff 
many  of  them  male  and  female,  as  a  thing  of  course 
when  the  spirit  moves  them.  If  you  want  to  see  the 
master's  eye  blighting  instead  of  fructifying  a  property, 
take  a  stroll  in  Patrick  Street  on  a  fine  afternoon  and 
observe  one  or  two  of  the  city  parish  priests,  adminis- 
trators or  curates,  sidling  crookedly  along,  their  bre- 
viary-clasping hands  behind  their  backs,  spying  out  the 
nakedness  of  the  land.  Behold  the  Falstaffian  butchers 
with  several  days'  beard  on  chin  and  knives  in  sheaths, 
arrayed  in  white  or  butcher's  blue,  emerging  from  the 
fragrant  darkness  of  Market  Lane  into  the  glories  of 
Patrick  Street  and  saluting  their  lords  the  priests,  while 
the  Catholic  shopkeepers  along  the  route — unless  they 
chance  to  be  momentarily  absent  from  the  pavement — 
bend  their  chins  to  their  knees  and  give  His  Reve- 
rence the  backs  of  their  hands.  Ah,  what  is  their 
little  trade  compared  with  that  of  His  Reverence's 
colossal  business  ? 

In  the  diocese  of  Cork  there  are  admitted  3  5  parish 
priests  and  administrators,  79  curates,  34  secular  priests 
specially  employed,  and  42  regular  priests;  total  190 
priests.  The  Regular  forces  in  the  diocese  are  the 
Augustinians  in  George's  Street ;  the  Capuchins  at 
Charlotte  Quay,  and  at  Rochestown ;  the  Dominicans 
at  Pope's  Quay ;  the  Franciscans  at  Liberty  Street ;  the 
Vincentians  at  Sunday's  Well ;  the  Society  for  African 
Missions  at  Wilton — all  the  foregoing  are  in  the  city ; 
the  Carmelites  at  Kinsale ;  and  the  Order  of  Charity 
at  Upton,  where  they  manage  an  "  industrial "  school, 
containing  198  boys,  for  whose  maintenance  the  State 
pays  the  Order  ;^3889,  los.  per  annum,  or  about  ^20 


CORK  PRIESTS  AND   NUNS  511 

per  head.  The  Christian  Brothers  are  estabhshed  in 
great  strength  in  Cork,  where  they  monopohse  all  that 
is  worth  having  of  the  Catholic  education,  primary  and 
secondary,  and  busy  themselves,  as  Doctor  Sheehan  of 
Maynooth  would  say,  in  turning  out  pupils  "  with  a 
constitution  proof  against  the  microbe  of  irreligion," 
and,  as  I  would  add,  proof  against  the  microbe  of 
useful  knowledge  and  common-sense.  They  have  a 
college  and  several  schools  in  the  city.  The  Presenta- 
tion Brothers  own  the  monastery  of  Mount  St.  Joseph, 
the  Mardyke  College,  Douglas  Street  schools,  St.  Mary's 
Mount  at  Kinsale,  St.  Patrick's  Orphanage  at  Green- 
mount,  and  the  Greenmoimt  "  Industrial "  School,  in 
which  there  are  201  boys  whose  maintenance  costs  the 
State  ^^3713,  IS.  3d.  per  annum.  The  Presentation 
Order  of  Nuns  have  two  fine  convents  in  the  city, 
known  as  the  North  and  South  Presentation  Convents  ; 
and  the  same  Order  has  convents  at  Bandon  and 
Crosshaven.  The  Sisters  of  Mercy  have  convents  at 
Kinsale,  attached  to  which  there  is  an  "  industrial " 
school  containing  147  vagrant  girls,  for  whose  main- 
tenance the  State  pays  £2286,  i6s.  8d.  per  annum;  at 
Bantry;  at  Passage,  where  they  draw  £iigy,  los.  per 
annum  for  6y  little  vagrant  boys;  and  a  convent  in 
the  city;  and  St.  Patrick's  Female  Orphanage.  The 
Sisters  of  Charity  own  the  Peacock  Lane  Convent, 
where  they  have  a  large  Magdalen  asylum  worked  on 
the  usual  lines ;  they  manage  a  hospital  for  incurables 
at  Wellington  Road,  and  an  asylum  for  the  blind  at 
Montenotte — all  in  the  city  of  Cork.  The  Sisters  of 
Marie  Reparatrice  are  established  at  South  Summer- 
hill  in  the  city.  The  Ursulines  have  a  splendid  and 
profitable  convent  at  Blackrock  and  another  remunera- 
tive establishment  at  Patrick's  Hill.  The  Sisters  of 
the  Good  Shepherd  have  a  palatial  collection  of  build- 


512  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

ings  at  Sunday's  Well,  including  an  "  industrial "  school, 
for  whicli  they  draw  £2,1  S7,  17s.  id.  per  annum  from 
the  State.  The  French  Sisters  of  Charity  are  installed 
in  the  North  Infirmary,  Cork,  and  at  Dunmanway, 
The  Bon  Secours  are  established  at  St.  Mary's  Hill 
on  the  Western  Road,  in  the  city.  The  Little  Sisters 
of  the  Poor  are  at  St.  Mary's  House,  Montenotte.  The 
Little  Sisters  of  the  Assumption  are  at  Granville  Place, 
Cork.  And  the  Sisters  for  the  African  Mission  are  at 
St.  Joseph's,  Blackrock  Road.  "  The  object  of  this 
large  new  convent,"  we  are  told,^  "  is  to  receive  young 
ladies  who  wish  to  devote  their  life  and  work  in  the 
missions  in  Africa."  God  help  you,  young  girls  of 
Cork,  now  living  and  yet  unborn,  until  the  destined 
day  arrives  when  the  light  of  truth  shall  break  in  upon 
your  brains,  never  to  be  extinguished  ! 

There  is  a  diocesan  seminary,  full  of  sacerdotal 
students,  at  Farranferris,  outside  the  city,  in  which 
the  future  lords  of  the  soil  and  of  the  soul  are  being 
brought  up  in  strict  seclusion  and  mystery  until  they 
come  into  their  inheritance. 

Nuns  are  established  on  profitable  terms  in  the 
poorhouses  in  the  city  and  county.  They  are  drawing 
public  money,  under  the  supervision  of  their  lords  the 
priests,  and  legacies  and  donations  from  private  indi- 
viduals. All  profitable  female  teaching  is  now  in  their 
hands ;  and  the  good  Catholic  women  of  Cork  who  are 
not  in  convents,  feel  like  outcasts  who  only  live  on 
sufferance — a  complete  inversion  of  everything  that  is 
right  and  just  and  for  the  benefit  of  humanity.  At 
a  moderate  estimate  the  2 1  convents  of  nuns  which 
I  have  specified  and  the  poorhouse  settlements  give 
us  at  least  400  professed  nuns  in  the  diocese  of  Cork ; 
while  the  Christian  Brothers,  of  all  classes,  may  be  fairly 
put  down  at  100. 

^  Catholic  Directory,  1902. 


CLOYNE  PRIESTS  AND   NUNS  513 

In  the  diocese  of  Cloyne  there  are  47  parish  priests 
and  administrators,  and  91  other  secuhir  priests  ad- 
mitted, total  138.  There  are  no  Regular  Priests  in 
this  diocese  ;  but  there  are  Presentation  Brothers  at 
Queenstown,  Patrician  Brothers  at  Mallow,  and  Chris- 
tian Brothers  at  Mitchelstown,  Youghal,  Charleville, 
Fermoy,  Midleton,  and  Doneraile,  whose  strength  we 
may  put  down  at  50.  There  are  Presentation  nuns 
at  Doneraile,  23  ;  Fermoy,  34  ;  Midleton,  38  ;  Youghal, 
30  ;  Mitchelstown,  24 — total,  149.  There  are  Sisters  of 
Mercy  at  Queenstown,  42  nuns,  where  they  manage  an 
"  industrial "  school  with  47  vagrant  little  girls  in  it, 
for  which  they  draw  £770,  12s.  8d.  per  annum;  at 
Mallow,  43  nuns,  where  they  have  another  "  industrial," 
with  60  little  girls,  for  which  they  take  £1077 ,  i6s.  5d. 
of  public  money  yearly;  at  Charleville,  58  nuns;  at 
Macroom,  28  nuns  ;  at  Kanturk,  i  3  nuns  ;  at  Buttevant, 
I  5  nuns — total,  1 99.  There  are  Loreto  nuns  at  Fermoy 
and  Youghal,  their  admitted  number  being  60.  There 
is  a  convent  of  Sisters  of  Charity  at  Blarney,  the 
number  of  nuns  in  which  is  not  admitted.  The  Poor 
Servants  of  the  Mother  of  God  are  at  Carrigtwohill, 
and  their  strength  is  not  admitted.  The  1 3  convents 
which  disclose  their  strength  have  408  nuns;  so  we 
may  safely  say  that  there  are  420  nuns  in  the  diocese 
of  Cloyne.  All  the  poorhouses  are  managed  by  nuns  in 
addition.  It  is  my  native  diocese,  and,  although  Cloyne 
is  far  from  being  as  much  priest-bitten  as  other  parts  of 
Ireland,  I  can  testify  from  experience  to  the  irreparable 
mischief  wrought  in  it  by  the  sacerdotal  establishment 
— the  distraction  of  energy,  the  ruin  of  manly  character, 
the  exclusion  of  useful  knowledge,  and  the  fosteringf  of 
cowardice  and  untruthfulness. 

The  small  diocese  of  Ross  has  28  parish  priests  and 
curates,  a  priest-managed  '  industrial  "  fishing  school  (!) 

2  K 


514  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

drawing  ;^238i,  6s.  per  annum,  and  three  Convents  of 
Mercy:  one  at  Skibbereen ;  one  at  Clonakilty,  where  they 
have  an  "industrial"  for  which  they  draw  £  1 903,  3s.  lod. 
a  year;  and  one  at  Rosscarbery;  containing  in  all  86  nuns. 
The  western  portion  of  the  county  of  Cork  which 
is  within  the  diocese  of  Kerry  contains  i  5  priests  and 
the  Millstreet  Presentation  Convent,  the  professed  nuns 
in  which  I  shall  average  at  20.     This  gives  us  an  ad- 
mitted total  of  3   bishops,  381  priests,  926  nuns,  and 
an  approximate  total  of  i  50  Brothers  of  various  classes  ; 
all  resident  and  prospering  in  the  county  of  Cork.     To 
this  we  must  add  sacerdotal  students  at  Farranferris 
and  Fermoy,  and  in  the  religious  houses,  as  well  as 
lay  brothers  in  the  regular  houses,  novices,  and  other 
subsidiary  persons  in  the  convents.     If  we  add  to  the 
1460  bishops,  priests,  monks,  and  nuns,  as  specified 
above,  540  for  secondary  religious,  we  shall  find  that, 
at  a  fair  estimate,  there  are  2000  religious  in  the  single 
county  of  Cork  engaged  in  crippling  the  intellects  of 
the  youth,  extracting  money  from  the  adults,  depriv- 
ing laymen  and  laywomen  of  honourable  employment, 
and  watching  the  deathbeds  of  the  old  and  infirm  to 
strip  them  of  their  savings  and  rob  their  legitimate 
heirs  of  their  rightful  inheritances,  whenever  they  can. 
That  is  the  industry,  that  is  the  trade  in  which  Cork 
sets  a  lead  to  Belfast.    That  is  the  product  which  should 
have  had  the  place  of  honour  at  the  Cork  Exhibition 
of  1902.     That  is  the  achievement  of  which  Cork  can 
boast  for  its  labours  during  the  latter  half  of  the  nine- 
teenth century ;   and,  equipped  with  which,  it  starts 
upon  the  twentieth  century — education  without  know- 
ledge, religiosity  without  Christianity,  and  a  flourishing 
trade  in  paupers,  derelicts,  and  invalids.     The  priests' 
organisation  in  county  Cork  draws  iJ"2 0,377,  19s.  iid. 
per  annum  for  the   maintenance  of  young  vagrants ! 


2000  CORK  RELIGIOUS  515 

Every  year  sees  a  contingent  of  helpless  young  male 
and  female  vagrants  discharged  upon  the  laity  to  swell 
the  ranks  of  the  incompetents.  Every  year  sees  a  fall 
in  the  lay  population  and  a  rise  in  the  priests'  forces. 
In  1871,  for  instance,  when  the  population  of  Cork  was 
5  1 7,07  6,  the  admitted  number  of  bishops,  priests,  monks, 
nuns,  and  sacerdotal  students  was  646.^  In  1901,  with 
the  population  down  to  404,8 1 3,  the  priests,  monks,  and 
nuns  have  risen  to  1 460,  as  I  have  shown  ;  both  figures 
being  exclusive  of  the  subsidiary  religious.  Adding  a 
proportionate  amount  for  subsidiaries,  we  place  the  total 
religious  in  1871  at  900  and  in  1901  at  2000 — an  in- 
crease of  1 2  5  per  cent.,  while  the  county  has  lost  112,263 
of  its  inhabitants  !  Every  year  sees  the  minds  of  each 
succeeding  quota  of  Cork  youth,  male  and  female,  grow 
more  stunted  and  deformed  than  their  predecessors, 
more  resigned  to  their  decadence,  more  worm-eaten 
with  religiosity.  The  father  is  not  an  improvement  on 
the  grandsire,  the  son  is  destined  to  be  a  degree  lower 
in  manliness  and  intelligence  than  the  father.  I  know  it 
well.  How  many  concrete  instances  of  it  have  I  at  this 
moment  before  my  mind's  eye.  Falling,  falling,  falling  ! 
The  vital  question  is  when  shall  we  touch  bottom  ? 

Having  noted  tlie  large  sum  of  public  money  which 
the  priests,  monks,  and  nuns  of  Cork  draw  for  maintain- 
ing derelict  children,  we  need  not  be  astonished  to  find 
them  jealously  guarding  their  monopoly  and  fostering 
the  sources  of  supply  from  which  their  institutions  are 
replenished.  Dean  Keller,  parish  priest  of  Youghal, 
powerful,  rich,  and  empurpled  with  honours,  takes 
the  existence  of  starving  children  in  the  streets  of 
that  town  as  a  natural  phenomenon,  like  sprats  in 
the  bay.  "  Let  him  suppose  the  agent  of  Dr.  Rarnardo 
visits  Youghal,"    the   Monsignor    is   reported   as  say- 

'  "Census  of  Ireland,"  1S71. 


5i6  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

ing,  "  and  discovers  some  starving  child  in  one  of  the 
lanes.  He  reports  the  case  to  him  (Dean  Keller),  who 
might  be  absent  from  home.  He  (the  Dean)  might  not 
be  in  a  position  within  fourteen  days  to  provide  for  the 
child.  In  that  case  Dr.  Barnardo  would  feel  justified 
in  taking  the  child  and  bringing  it  up  a  Protestant, 
provided  he  could  escape  the  meshes  of  the  law."  ^ 
Here  we  see  the  rich  priest  at  home ;  starving  children 
in  the  lanes  around  him,  liable  to  be  discovered  by 
energetic  lay  Protestants,  like  Dr.  Barnardo,  anxious 
to  make  them  men  and  women,  useful  to  king  and 
country  and  able  to  provide  for  themselves.  If  Dr. 
Barnardo  rescued  a  Youghal  starving  child  aged  nine, 
it  would  mean  a  loss  to  the  priests'  organisation  in 
county  Cork  of  seven  or  eight  years'  pension,  amount- 
ing to  about  £140  or  £i6o.  The  same  child  could 
be  supported  in  the  Wexford  poorhouse  at  less  than 
£g  per  annum — and  it  would  come  out  of  the  poor- 
house  as  well  fitted  for  useful  citizenship  as  it  is  when 
it  emerges  from  the  priests'  "  industrial "  schools. 

The  Town  Con:imissioners  of  Youghal  had  dared, 
some  days  before,  to  let  the  public  town-hall  at  a  fee 
to  Dr.  Barnardo  to  hold  an  entertainment !  When  the 
priests  of  Youghal  heard  of  it,  they  grew  indignant 
beyond  measure.  Mere  Town  Commissioners,  Roman 
Catholics  most  of  them,  what  right  have  they  to  let 
their  town-hall,  without  consulting  the  ecclesiastical 
authorities  ?  The  ecclesiastical  arm,  not  the  secular 
arm,  must  be  the  ruling  power  in  Youghal.  Picturesque 
Youghal ;  so  beautifully  situated,  Avhere  the  glorious 
Blackwater  hurls  itself  into  the  Atlantic,  building  up 
a  mound  of  waters,  fresh  and  salt  commingled,  at  the 
bar ;  poor  Youghal,  so  decadent,  so  historic  !  A  meet- 
insf  of  the  Town  Commissioners  is  a^ain  called  "  to  em- 

1  Cork  Examiner,  May  31,  1902. 


.RELIGION   IN   YOUGHAL  517 

phatically  repudiate  the  imputation  "  of  having  let  the 
hall  to  Dr.  Barnardo  "  through  a  spirit  of  toadyism  or 
slavishness  to  any  party  or  person." 

Mr.  Kennedy,  who  is,  perhaps,  the  most  self-helpful 
Catholic  in  Youghal,  said  "  the  rooms  did  not  belong 
exclusively  to  the  Catholics,  for  the  Protestant  rate- 
payers owned  their  share  of  them,  .  .  .  Some  gentle- 
men said  Dr.  Barnardo  was  engaged  in  proselytising, 
but  Mr.  Merrick  had  assured  them  that  such  was  not 
the  case."  ]\Ir.  Merrick  is  the  ruling  commercial  spirit 
in  Youghal.  Industrious,  courageous,  rich,  he  is  the 
representative  of  Sense  and  Progress  in  the  ancient 
town,  as  the  priests  are  the  pioneers  of  Nonsense  and 
Retrogression.  If  Mr.  Merrick  the  Protestant  and 
Mr.  Kennedy  the  Catholic  were  taken  out  of  Youghal, 
the  two  best  men  in  the  town  would  have  gone  from 
it.  Oh,  how  the  priests  fear  this  co-operation  of 
Protestant  with  Catholic  layman  !  If  it  were  allowed 
to  proceed,  the  priest  as  we  know  him  to-day  would 
quickly  disappear  from  society  in  Ireland. 

Fathers  Aherne  and  Whelan  have  come  to  this 
meeting  of  the  Commissioners  which  is  being  held  to 
repudiate  the  slanders  of  "  toadyism  or  slavishness." 
How  darkly  lower  their  brows !  Oh,  if  they  only  had 
a  little  secular  power,  jurisdiction  over  the  police,  or 
authority  to  couunit  to  jail  for  contempt  of  our  Holy 
Mother  the  Church  !  But,  as  yet,  they  have  not  such 
authority  in  Ireland ;  though  it  may  come,  if  Mr.  John 
Morley  and  Sir  Henry  Campbell-Bannerman,  frightened 
by  the  "  spectre  "  of  eighty  Irish  votes,  concede  Home 
Rule. 

The  motion  protesting  against  toadyism  having  been 
adopted.  Father  Aherne — who,  not  being  a  member, 
should  not  have  been  admitted  or  allowed  to  address 
the   meetinof — exclaimed :  "  I   would  like    to    ask   the 


5i8  PRIESTS   AND   PEOPLE 

majority  of  the  people  whether  they  sent  you  here  to 
pass  censure  on  your  priests  ?  You  have  taken  the 
word  of  this  gentleman,  Mr.  Merrick,  in  preference  to 
ours,  and  it  is  a  credit  to  you  ! "  And  we  are  told 
"  the  two  reverend  gentlemen  then  left  the  room." 

I  do  not  know  either  Mr.  Merrick  or  those  priests  of 
Youghal  personally,  though  I  know  of  them ;  but  I 
should  not  doubt  Mr.  Merrick's  word,  even  if  all  the 
bishops  and  priests  in  Ireland  declared  what  he  said 
to  be  false,  until  some  more  convincing  testimony  were 
forthcoming.  I  know  the  priests,  unfortunately,  too 
well.  Mr.  Merrick  of  Youghal  is  not  the  kind  of  man 
to  please  them.  He  is  not  a  broken-down,  limping, 
Protestant  limb,  shed  from  a  tree  of  decadent  Catholic 
nobility,  unable  to  live  by  honest  work,  and  sponging 
on  a  Roman  Catholic  priesthood  which  luxuriates  in 
wealth  and  power  at  the  expense  of  a  starved  laity ! 

The  "  revered  and  beloved  "  Bishop  Browne — whom 
few  Catholics  in  the  diocese  of  Cloyne  knew  anything  of, 
until  he  was  appointed  to  the  see  by  the  Roman  priests, 
over  the  head  of  Dean  Keller  who  had  been  elected 
dignissimus  by  the  Cloyne  priests — wrote  a  letter  to 
"  my  dear  dean  "  which  was  read  at  all  the  masses  on  the 
following  Sunday :  "  In  warning  your  Catholic  people 
to  dissociate  themselves  from  any  participation  in  the 
proposed  entertainment  at  Youghal  in  aid  of  the 
well-known  Dr.  Barnardo's  Homes  of  Refuge,  you  have 
only  discharged  the  obvious  duty  of  a  good  pastor  to 
his  flock.  I  also  strongly  exhort  and  warn  the  people 
of  Youghal  to  take  no  part  whatever,  directly  or 
indirectly,  in  encouraging  or  supporting  in  any  way 
this  proposed  entertainment."  The  incident  reeks 
with  intolerance  and  hypocrisy;  and,  out  of  the 
miasma,  loom  the  figures  of  the  "  starving  child  in 
the    lanes "   and    the    fat,   richly-endowed    Dean    and 


THE  PRIEST  IN   SKIBBEREEN  519 

Bishop  with  their  enclosures  of  nuns  and  "  industrial " 
schools. 

When  the  Skibbereen  Urban  Council  was  applied 
to  by  Dr.  Barnardo  for  the  use  of  its  hall  some 
weeks  later,  Mr.  T.  Sheehy,  J.P.,  chairman,  is  reported 
to  have  said  that,  having  "  seen  the  statement  of  Dean 
Keller,  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  wait  upon  Dr.  Kelly,  their 
good  bishop.  .  .  .  Dr.  Kelly  stated  to  him  that  he 
could  countenance  in  no  way  Catholics  giving  any 
support  whatever  to  anything  in  which  Dr.  Barnardo 
was  engaged.  The  faith  of  destitute  Cathohc  children 
Avas  as  dear  to  them  as  the  apple  of  their  eye,  and  they 
could  not  countenance  the  snapping  up  of  these 
children.  He  had  therefore  much  pleasure  in  pro- 
posing that  the  clerk  be  instructed  to  write  to 
Dr.  Barnardo  refusing  the  hall." 

Mr.  O'Shea,  "  in  seconding  that  the  hall  be  not  given, 
said  they  were  very  lenient  there,  and  never  showed 
any  bigotry  about  giving  the  hall  to  any  religious 
denomination."  ^  Mr.  O'Shea  should  have  been  a 
priest.     He  speaks  exactly  like  one. 

West  of  Skibbereen — that  much-ridiculed  town — 
lies  the  lovely  region  of  Bantry,  with  its  noble  bay, 
in  which  a  hundred  fleets  could  ride  at  anchor,  and 
at  the  head  of  which  nestles  Glengariffe.  The  beautiful 
country  around  Glengariffe,  Kenmare,  and  Killarney  is 
one  of  the  most  hopeless  districts  in  Ireland.  Nothing 
human  flourishes  there,  amidst  the  beauties  of  nature, 
but  the  priest  and  his  cult. 

Before  leaving  the  county  of  Cork  I  shall  briefly 
relate  an  incident  which  occurred  recently  in  the 
diocese  of  Cloyne,  and  in  a  locality  I  know  intimately 
since  childhood.  In  October  1901,  Mr.  William  H. 
Forde,  District   Councillor,   invited   Captain    Donelan, 

^  Freeman,  June  5,  1902. 


520  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

M.P.  for  East  Cork,  "  to  visit  Ballycotton,  as  some  of 
the  labourers'  dwellings  were  in  a  very  miserable 
state."  ^  I  know  Mr.  Forde,  and  I  know  of  Captain 
Donelan  as  long  as  I  can  remember.  They  are  both 
holders  of  land,  and  both  members  of  the  Church  of 
Ireland.  "  Captain  Donelan  was  met  on  his  arrival 
by  Mr.  William  H.  Forde,  Mr.  B.  Power,  vice-chairman 
of  the  Midleton  Guardians,"  whom  I  also  know  well 
— he  is  a  Catholic  farmer — and  by  many  other  laymen. 
"  In  all  a  dozen  houses  were  visited,"  we  are  told, 
"  including  a  hut  seven  feet  by  five  feet,  erected  on 
the  side  of  a  cliff,  in  which  father  and  mother  and 
four  children  are  residing  since  April  last."  And  it 
is  added  that  "  The  honourable  gentleman  was  both 
astonished  and  disgusted  to  find  Christian  people 
huddled  up  in  such  a  manner.  He  said  he  travelled 
in  uncivilised  countries  and  never  found  such  a  state 
of  affairs  to  exist." 

Bad  as  the  physical  condition  of  the  Ballycotton 
labourers  may  have  appeared  to  Captain  Donelan, 
their  mental  and  spiritual  condition  is  even  farther 
removed  from  the  ideals  of  Christianity  and  civilisa- 
tion. But  neither  Mr.  Forde  nor  Captain  Donelan, 
nor  the  popular  newspapers,  would  dare  to  criticise 
that ;  though  if  the  mental  and  spiritual  state  of  the 
peasantry  were  improved,  the  improvement  of  dwell- 
ings and  everything  desirable  would  follow,  as  a 
matter  of  course ! 

Close  by  Ballycotton,  at  Ballingrane,  one  month  after 
Captain  Donelan's  visit,  were  living  William  Dwyer,  a 
labourer,  with  his  wife,  Mary  Dwyer,  his  daughter, 
Bridget  Dwyer,  and  his  three  sons,  Maurice,  John,  and 
Michael.  They  had  no  land,  but  William  Dwyer  had 
built   himself   "  a  new   thatched   house   about  fifteen 

'  Freeman,  October  i6,  1901. 


THE  CROTTY  MURDER  521 

years  ago,"  on  the  ruins  of  a  deserted  tenement  on 
which  he  had  squatted.  Opposite  the  Dwyers'  cottage, 
across  the  boreen  or  lane,  lies  the  sixty-acre  farm  of 
one  Patrick  Grotty.  Oh,  hoAv  the  Dwyers  grudge  that 
land  to  the  Crottys !  William  Dwyer  and  his  wife 
are  what  is  called  free  labourers ;  they  have  struggled 
through  all  the  difficulties  of  rearing  their  family, 
and,  although  landless,  are  comfortable ;  for  they  have 
a  horse  and  a  sow  with  a  litter  of  young  pigs.  Pati-ick 
Grotty,  the  farmer,  has  three  sons — John,  Michael,  and 
Timothy.  The  Grottys  complain  that  the  Dwyers  are 
in  the  habit  of  trespassing,  knocking  down  the  boundary 
fence,  and  have  even  enclosed  a  snippet  of  Grotty 's 
ground  during  the  past  fifteen  years. 

On  the  evening  of  the  i8th  November  1901  old 
Grotty  and  his  son  Timothy,  walking  in  their  own 
field,  saw  William  Dwyer  and  his  son  John  putting 
up  a  little  piggery  "  where  there  never  had  been  a 
piggery  before,"  and  encroaching  on  Crotty's  land. 
Patrick  Grotty  addressed  William  Dwyer  and  told  him 
to  cease  working  at  the  new  piggery,  for  he  (Grotty) 
would  build  up  his  boundary  fence  there  the  follow- 
ing day.  An  altercation  followed ;  Dwyer  defied 
Grotty,  and  went  on  with  the  building. 

On  the  following  morning,  at  nine  o'clock,  the  three 
young  Grottys  came  upon  the  ground  to  repair  the 
boundary  fence,  carrying  a  spade,  a  powerful  adze- 
shaped  instrument  known  as  a  grafiPawn,  and  other 
implements  for  fencing.  The  Dwyers  had  been  watch- 
ing their  approach,  and  Maurice  Dwyer,  a  navy  stoker 
home  on  sick  leave,  was  seen  "  taking  off  his  coat  and 
tying  his  braces  around  his  waist,"  as  if  preparing  for 
a  tussle.  Mary  Dwyer,  the  mother,  was  heard  shout- 
ing out  to  her  sons,  "  Kill  them  now,  boys  ! " 

Before  the  Grottys  could  begin  their  fencing,    the 


522  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

whole  family  of  Dwyers  rushed  out  upon  them — Dwyer 
the  father,  fifty-five  years  of  age;  Maurice,  twenty-eight; 
John,  twenty-one ;  Michael,  eighteen  ;  the  mother ;  and 
Bridget  the  daughter,  aged  twenty-seven.  A  combat 
ensued.  William  Dwyer  was  seen  striking  John  Grotty 
and  felling  him  into  a  pool  in  the  dyke  at  the  side  of 
the  fence.  Timothy  and  Michael  Grotty  were  forced  to 
fly  for  safety,  leaving  their  elder  brother  John,  aged 
thirty-five  years,  dead  upon  the  ground.  They  took 
refusfe  in  a  labourer's  house  close  at  hand  on  the  main 
road.  Four  different  witnesses,  a  girl  from  her  cottage 
window,  and  three  men  working  in  their  own  lands  close 
by,  saw  the  meUe,  but  none  of  them  interfered !  Maurice, 
John,  and  Michael  Dwyer  with  their  mother  and  their 
sister  furiously  pursued  the  Grottys.  But  old  Dwyer, 
the  father,  "  remained  standing  over  the  victim  behind 
in  the  pool,  and  actually  while  the  chase  was  taking 
place — they  would  hardly  credit  it,  it  was  the  revolting 
feature  of  the  case,"said  the  Grown  Gounsel,  Mr.  Matthew 
Bourke — "  the  old  man  William,  with  the  implement  he 
held  in  his  hand,  was  seen  three  separate  times  to  deal 
three  separate  blows  on  the  body  of  the  victim  he  was 
standing  over,  poor  John  Grotty,  who  had  never  risen 
from  the  blow  which  William  Dwyer  had  delivered  ! " 

After  a  time,  Michael  and  Timothy  Grotty,  venturing 
out  of  their  retreat,  attempted  to  return  to  the  place 
where  their  brother's  body  was  Ijang,  but  they  were 
chased  off  again  by  the  Dwyers ;  and  Michael  Grotty 
would  have  been  impaled  upon  Maurice  Dwyer's  pike, 
but  that  the  latter  slipped  and  fell.  At  length  the 
Dwyers  determined  to  retire  inside  their  cottage,  and, 
passing  the  dead  body  of  John  Grotty  on  their  way  to 
the  door,  Michael  Dwyer,  the  youngest  son,  "  dealt  it,  as 
it  lay  there  on  the  ground,  two  blows  with  his  stick." 
News  of  the  incident  was  at  once  carried  to  the  police, 


THE  DWYER  FAMILY  523 

who  quickly  arrived  upon  the  ground,  and  old  Dwyer 
and  his  three  sons  were  arrested.  The  policeman  who 
arrested  them  said  that  "  he  considered  them  hard- 
working, industrious  people."  But  a  Navy  official,  who 
was  called  at  the  trial,  said  that  Maurice  Dwyer's  con- 
duct and  character  in  the  service  had  been  "very  bad." 
The  four  male  members  of  the  family  were  lodged  in 
Cork  jail  that  night,  and  the  mother  and  daughter  were 
left  at  home.  During  the  evening,  the  elder  woman 
went  to  the  adjacent  village  of  Ballycotton,  perhaps  to 
purchase  some  necessaries,  and  the  daughter  Avas  left 
alone  in  the  cottage.  It  is  possible  that  the  girl  felt 
lonely,  and  therefore  determined  to  go  and  meet  her 
mother.  At  any  rate,  she  walked  along  the  high  road 
in  the  direction  of  Ballycotton,  leaving  the  house  un- 
occupied. Chancing  to  turn  round,  she  beheld  a  fire 
in  the  direction  of  her  home.  Hastening  back  she 
found  the  house  in  flames,  and  a  crowd  of  spectators 
looking  on  at  the  fire.  The  crowd  continued  to  increase 
in  numbers,  but  refused  to  do  anything  to  save  the 
burning  house.  The  fire  at  length  spent  itself  out, 
and  Mary  Dwyer  and  her  daughter  were  left  roofless 
on  that  bleak  November  night  beside  the  charred  re- 
mains of  their  hearth.  Some  time  after  the  burningf  of 
the  house,  mother  and  daughter  were  also  arrested  on 
a  charge  of  having  been  concerned  in  the  murder,  and 
were  lodged  in  jail. 

The  entire  family  were  tried  before  Mr.  Justice 
Andrews,  at  the  Cork  Assizes,  in  December  1901,  and 
were  found  guilty  of  manslaughter,  John,  Michael,  and 
Bridget  being  recommended  to  mercy ;  and  the  follow- 
ing sentences  of  penal  servitude  were  passed  upon 
them  by  that  painstaking  and  conscientious  judge: — 
"  William  Dwyer,  father,  Mary  Dwyer,  mother,  and 
Maurice  Dwyer,  eldest  son,  fifteen  years  each ;  John 


524  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

and  Bridget  Dwyer,  ten  years ;  Michael  Dwyer,  eleven 
years." 

What  damning  testimony  the  lamentable  history  of 
this  case  bears  to  the  fundamental  weakness  of  character 
in  poor  Catholic  Irishmen,  due,  as  I  believe,  to  lack  of 
Christian  instruction  and  the  non-practice  of  simple. 
Christian  virtues  in  youth  !  Here  we  witness  William 
Dwyer,  after  his  life  of  struggle,  during  which  he  has 
been  a  kind  of  Ishmael  in  his  neighbourhood,  at  length 
in  possession  of  a  competence.  He  has  reared  his 
family,  and  they  are  occupying  the  new  house  which 
he  built  with  his  own  hands,  and  he  enjoys  some  pros- 
pect, apparently,  of  rest  and  comfort  in  his  declining 
days,  being  possessed  of  a  horse  and  car,  a  sow  and 
young  pigs.  Yet  we  see  him  casting  to  the  winds 
everything  that  he  has  so  hardly  won,  surrendering 
himself  like  a  savage  to  a  passion  of  hate  and  jealousy, 
which  he  has  nursed  for  years  against  this  sixty-acre 
farmer  Crotty,  whose  land  confronts  him,  and  at  one 
fell  blow  losing  everything  that  he  has  acquired.  His 
entire  family  we  find  are  imbued  with  the  same  passion- 
ate spirit  as  himself.  Well  would  it  have  been  for 
Maurice,  the  navy  stoker,  if  he  had  never  returned  to 
the  parental  nest  when  once  he  had  flown  off! 

The  incident  is  an  index  of  the  feelings  of  pagan 
vindictiveness  which  are  rife  in  Catholic  Ireland.  The 
burning  of  the  Dwyers'  house  was  subsequently  adjudged 
to  be  malicious,  and  compensation  awarded  to  them 
while  in  prison.  Such  catastrophes  could  not  take  place 
if  the  example  and  practice  of  Christianity  were  truly 
instilled  into  the  minds  of  our  people.  It  is  the 
mental  condition  of  the  whole  Dwyer  family,  and  thou- 
sands of  other  families — not  the  death  of  John  Crotty 
— that  constitutes  the  real  heinousness  of  this  outrage. 
Of  what  use  is  it  to  the  Dwyers  of  Ireland  to  patter 


CHURCHES  BEAUTIFIED  525 

off  the  clerical  definition  of  "an  indulgence"  at  school; 
or  to  obey  the  precept,  "  Fast  and  abstain  on  the  days 
commanded  "  ?  Of  what  use  to  "  approach  the  sacra- 
ments regularly,"  and  thus  be  entitled  to  call  them- 
selves "practical  Catholics"  ?  Of  what  benefit  that  they 
comply  with  the  injunction  to  "  contribute  to  the 
support  of  their  pastors  "  ?  Not  only  is  such  a  train- 
ing of  no  use  in  the  formation  of  character ;  on  the 
contrary  it  is  misleading  and  destructive  to  character ; 
because  our  poor  people  think  that,  when  they  have  a 
smattering  of  definition,  and  comply  with  compulsory 
external  observances,  the  whole  duty  of  man  has  been 
performed. 

The  mind  of  the  Bishop  of  Cloyne  in  his  next  pastoral, 
issued  early  in  February  1902,  two  months  after  the 
trial  of  the  Dwyers,  is  busy  about  his  cathedral  thus:^ — 

"  The  extensive  stone  carving  of  the  capitals  of  nume- 
rous columns  of  the  walls,  of  the  nave  and  transepts, 
of  the  apse  of  the  chancel,  and  of  the  entrance  doors, 
all  so  exquisitely  and  elaborately  chased  ;  the  numerous 
statues  in  marble  and  Portland  stone ;  the  mosaic  and 
wood-block  fioors ;  the  vaulted  ceiling  of  the  nave  and 
transepts ;  the  stone-groined  roofs  of  the  aisles ;  the 
stained-glass  windows,  over  fifty  in  number ;  the  seat- 
ings ;  the  confessionals ;  the  shrines ;  the  tapestry ;  are 
only  some  of  the  few  works  we  had  to  undertake.  When 
all  this  was  finished,  it  became  more  manifest  than  ever 
that  the  effect  Avould  be  greatly  impaired  if  we  allowed 
the  exterior  surroundings  of  the  cathedral,  which  were 
most  unsightly,  to  continue  to  disfigure  the  noble  struc- 
ture ;  and  accordingly  we  had  to  add  to  our  original 
undertaking  the  enlarging  and  beautifying  of  the  grounds 
of  the  cathedral,  and  the  approaches  thereto.  Owing 
to  the  site  of  the  cathedral  this  was  a  costly  under- 
taking, as  we  had  to  purchase  and  remove  some  old 
houses,  and  build  deep  buttress  and  parapet  walls  to 

1  Freeman,  February  ii,  1902. 


526  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

the  new  public  road,  which  took  the  place  of  the  old  one, 
now  within  the  enclosure  of  the  cathedral.  All  this  is 
now  finished,  with  the  result  that  we  feel  justified  in 
saying  that  there  is  no  finer  church  in  all  the  country — 
if  indeed  it  has  a  rival — for  the  enduring  character  of 
the  work,  and  the  beauty  and  magnificence  of  the  struc- 
ture, inside  and  outside." 

Such  proceedings,  instead  of  being  creditable  to 
Bishop  Browne,  are,  in  my  opinion,  in  the  highest 
degree  discreditable  to  him  and  to  the  stagnant  and 
impoverished  lay  Catholics  of  Queenstown  and  Cloyne, 
who  joined  with  him  in  the  work  of  beautifying  this 
inaccessible  cathedral  and  wasting  money  on  new  public 
roads,  buttresses,  and  parapets  to  improve  the  diffi- 
cult approach  to  it.  Let  not  our  Irish  people  delude 
themselves  by  supposing  that  their  combination  of 
church-beautifying,  manslaughtering,  house-burning, 
and  self-degradation  are  anything  new.  All  those  traits 
have  been  seen  in  co-operation  in  many  a  ruined  Catholic 
land  before — Mexico,  for  instance,  where  the  altars  in 
the  half-caste  churches  are  of  solid  silver.  But  a  rude 
awakening  never  fails  to  break  upon  such  lands.  The 
dawn  has  broken  even  upon  Mexico ! 

Some  few  years  ago  a  parish  priest  of  this  diocese 
admitted  on  oath  in  court  that  he  had  visited  a  lady 
over  eighty  years  of  age  and  told  her  "  he  had  had 
a  vision  on  the  preceding  night,"  in  which  it  was  re- 
vealed to  him  that  she  had  left  him  £6000  for  the 
building  of  his  new  church.  The  lady,  whom  I  knew 
well,  had  several  nephews  and  nieces  in  struggling 
circumstances,  some  of  whom  had  been  brought  up 
with  the  promise  of  inheriting  her  means.  She  was  as 
nice  a  woman  as  one  could  meet ;  but,  at  the  approach 
of  death,  she  gave  her  £6000  to  the  priest ;  and  the 
bequest  was  upheld. 


MINDS  DEGRADED  527 

It  is  the  minds  of  our  people  and  not  the  walls  of 
our  churches  which  require  to  be  beautified.  In  the 
small  hours  of  Sunday  morning,  June  22,  1902,  "a 
sacrilege  of  the  most  abominable  nature  was  perpe- 
trated in  the  Catholic  chapel  at  Douglas,"  ^  in  the  city 
of  Cork.  "  The  chapel  was  desecrated  in  the  most 
outrageous  fashion,  the  vestments  and  other  articles 
having  been  destroyed."  On  Saturday  night  a  woman 
had  been  seen  in  the  vicinity  in  company  with  a  soldier. 
The  same  woman,  "  one  more  unfortunate,"  was  seen 
returning  to  Cork  on  the  Sunday  afternoon  walking 
alone  on  the  road  between  Rochestown  and  Passage. 
The  police  arrested  her  when  she  reached  the  city,  and 
she  "  was  found  to  be  wearing  a  pair  of  shoes  "  taken 
from  the  chapel, "  having  left  her  own  after  her  "  ;  and 
"  she  was  also  wearing  some  of  the  surplices  which  she 
took,"  and  a  glove,  "  the  fellow  of  which  was  found  in 
the  chapel."  We  are  told  that,  "  when  she  was  taken 
to  Douglas  in  a  covered  car,  the  people  of  the  place 
heard  who  she  was  and  made  attempts  to  tear  her 
from  the  car."  And  it  is  added  that,  "  when  this  did 
not  succeed,  they  cheered  the  police  wildly  for  arrest- 
ing her." 

Wild  cheers  will  not  avail.  When  our  Irish  people 
realise  the  responsibility  of  the  priests  for  the  existence 
of  such  criminals  and  the  commission  of  such  crimes, 
then,  and  not  till  then,  will  the  reformation  of  CathoHc 
Ireland  be  within  view. 

^  Evening  Telegraph,  June  23,  1902. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

IN    KERRY,    CLARE,    AND    LIMERICK — SUMMARY 
OF    THE    priests'    ARMY   IN    MUNSTER 

The  diocese  of  Kerry  includes  the  entire  county  of 
Kerry  and  the  portion  of  Cork  to  which  I  have  referred 
in  the  last  chapter.  Bishop  Coffey  resides  at  his  palace 
in  Killarney,  and  under  him  he  has  5  i  parish  priests 
and  administrators  and  69  curates.  There  are  a  diocesan 
seminary  at  Killarney,  in  control  of  which  there  are  seven 
priests ;  and  schools  under  priestly  management  at  Lis- 
towel  and  Tralee,  in  which  there  are  four  priests,  which 
would  give  us  a  total  of  i  30  secular  priests.  There  is  a 
Franciscan  Friary  at  Killarney,  the  number  of  whose 
inmates  I  do  not  know,  but  in  which  there  are  four 
admitted  priests ;  and  a  Dominican  Priory  at  Tralee,  in 
which  there  are  four  admitted  priests.  This  gives  us  the 
small  total  of  eight  regular  priests.  There  are  Presen- 
tation Brothers  at  Killarney,  and  Christian  Brothers 
at  Tralee,  Dingle,  and  Cahirciveen,  whose  numbers  are 
not  given.  There  are  convents  of  Presentation  Nuns 
at  Killarney,  Tralee,  Dingle,  Listowel,  Cahirciveen,  Mill- 
street,  Milltown,  Castleisland,  Lixnaw,  and  Rathmore ; 
Sisters  of  Mercy  at  Tralee,  Killarney,  Castletown  Bere, 
and  Ballybunion  ;  Poor  Clares  at  Kenniare,  of  whose  fine 
place  I  give  an  illustration  ;  Loreto  Nuns  at  Killarney  ; 
and  Bon  Secours  Nuns  at  Tralee.  This  gives  us  a  total 
of  17  convents  in  the  county  of  Kerry,  none  of  whom 
admit  their  strength.  Putting  down  the  average  com- 
munity at  twenty,  which  is  well  within  the  mark,  judg- 
ing by  our  experiences  in  other  dioceses,  we  get  a  total 

528 


THE   POPE   IN  KERRY  529 

of  340  nuns  in  the  county.  Putting  tlie  four  establish- 
ments of  Brothers  down  at  twenty,  we  find  the  prin- 
cipal members  of  the  sacerdotal  establishment  in  Kerry 
number  498  ;  while,  if  we  add  theological  students  and 
subsidiary  inmates  of  convents,  we  may  put  down  the 
full  strength  of  the  priests'  organisation  in  Kerry  at 
800.  There  are  three  "  industrial "  schools  in  the  county, 
one  managed  by  monks  and  two  managed  by  nuns, 
drawing  ;i^42  72,  14s.  2d.  yearly  in  public  money.  The 
following  incident  illustrates  the  policy  of  the  priest. 

A  sad  boating  accident  occurred  at  Killarney  at 
Whitsuntide  1902,  in  which  nine  English  tourists  and 
four  local  boatmen  lost  their  lives ;  and  shortly  after- 
wards a  public  meeting  was  held  to  provide  a  fimd  for 
the  relief  of  the  families  of  the  boatmen.  A  Killarney 
priest  attended  on  behalf  of  Bishop  Coffey,  and  said, 
"  His  lordship,  who  was  on  his  return  from  Rome,  com- 
missioned him  to  hand  the  chairman  a  cheque  for  ;i^5, 
and  regretted  that  he  could  not  multiply  it  by  ten."  ^ 

The  Protestant  rector  of  Killarney  attended  the  meet- 
ing, and  said  that  "  Mr.  Furness,  an  English  Protestant, 
who  had  lost  his  mother,  brother,  and  sister  in  the 
accident,  had  shown  his  good  feeling  by  leaving  a  sum 
of  £26,  5s.,  twenty-five  guineas,  for  the  fund." 

In  another  column  of  the  same  newspaper  the  follow- 
ing correction  was  made  in  leaded  type  :  "  The  amount 
presented  by  the  Bishop  of  Kerry,  as  Peter's  Pence,  to 
the  Pope  was  not  ;^ioo,  but  ;^iooo  !" 

A  Kerry  lawsuit  recently  occupied  the  attention  of 
the  Dublin  Courts,  the  parties  being  all  Catholics.  A 
widow,  the  mother  of  a  large  young  family,  brought  an 
action  for  breach  of  promise,  and  charged  a  neighbour- 
ing farmer  with  having  seduced  her  under  promise  of 
marriage.     She  had  given  birth  to  a  child,  of  which  she 

^  Freeman,  May  24,  1902. 

2  I4 


530  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

alleged  him  to  be  the  father.  A  female  shopkeeper  in 
one  of  the  Kerry  towns,  who  knew  both  the  parties, 
gave  evidence  that,  a  few  days  previous  to  the  birth 
of  the  child,  the  man  and  woman  visited  her  shop  and 
partook  of  drink  there,  and  that  she  permitted  them 
to  sleep  on  her  premises  that  night,  as  she  understood 
they  intended  to  be  married  on  the  following  day ;  and 
that  she  advanced  a  sum  of  i^2  0  to  the  man  to  enable 
him  to  buy  a  ring,  pay  the  priest  and  other  expenses 
of  the  wedding,  as  he  said  he  had  left  home  without 
money,  and  wished  to  postpone  the  ceremony  on  that 
account !  The  jury  awarded  substantial  damages ;  but 
no  comment  was  made  on  the  low  moral  tone  disclosed 
by  the  occurrence;  and  I  have  reason  to  know  that 
the  case  is  only  a  straw  showing  how  the  moral  wind 
is  blowing  in  large  districts  of  Kerry. 

An  elderly  woman,  living  alone  in  her  cottage  in  a 
wild  district  in  the  west  of  the  county,  was  brutally 
murdered  at  night  in  May  1902;  and  the  only  con- 
ceivable motive  alleged  for  the  crime  was,  that  she  had 
been  working  as  a  charwoman  for  the  constabulary  in 
the  adjacent  police  station  ! 

I  happened  to  be  in  Killarney  in  1901;  and,  after 
enjoying  its  beauties  in  solitude  on  a  balmy,  bright 
November  day — when  all  Ireland  outside  its  delightful 
precincts  was  enveloped  in  chilly  fog— I  went  down 
into  the  town  to  see  how  the  population  disposed  of 
themselves  in  the  evening.  The  streets  were  full  of 
listless  people,  old,  middle-aged,  and  young,  standing 
about  on  the  pavements  like  cattle,  and  spending  their 
evenings  out-of-doors  in  idleness.  The  enjoyments  of 
home-life  or  profitable  indoor  occupations  seemed  to 
be  unheard  of.  I  noticed  a  knot  of  young  labourers 
under  a  street-lamp,  one  of  whom  was  reading  the 
Irish   numerals  aloud   from  a  primer   for   the  others, 


Lawrence. 


Kenmaee  Convent  and  Church 


"The  beautiful  country  around  Glengariffe,  Kenrnare,  and  Killarney  is  one  of  the  most  hopeless 
districts  in  Ireland.     Nothinj;  human  flourishes  there  but  the  priest  and  his  cult." 


Lnivrenci 


I)E  La  Sallk  Tkainjnu  College,  W'ateuford 


"  Every  variety  of  religious  institution  is  to  be  found  in  Waterford,  and  they  are  all  flourishing. 
It  is  only  the  town  itself  and  the  lay  Catholics  that  are  decaying"  (p.  492). 


THE   PRIEST  IN   CLARE  531 

and  I  heard  him  boasting  to  his  friends  that  "  when 
he  was  in  Galway  some  months  ago,  yerra,  he  heard  a 
youngster  there,  younger  than  any  of  them,  who  could 
speak  Irish  better "  than  the  teacher  who  had  just 
been  instructing  them  in  the  Gaelic  class.  I  could 
not  help  being  struck  at  such  sad  waste  of  energy. 
I  was  informed  that  the  bishop  had  expressed  his  dis- 
approval of  the  adoption  of  the  Compulsory  Education 
Act  by  the  County  Council,  and  that,  therefore,  the  Act 
was  not  yet  in  force  in  the  county  Kerry ! 

In  1 87 1,  when  Kerry  had  a  population  of  196,586, 
its  priests,  monks,  and  nuns  numbered  337;  in  1901, 
when  its  people  had  diminished  to  165,726,  its  priests, 
monks,  and  nuns  had  risen  to  543.  Without  including 
subsidiaries,  the  sacerdotal  establishment  in  Kerry,  in- 
cluding teachers,  is  admitted  at  1265  persons  to-day; 
while  imperial  and  local  government  services  combined, 
including  492  police,  only  number  871.^ 

Clare  is,  perhaps,  the  most  exclusively  Roman 
Catholic  county  in  Ireland,  98  per  cent,  of  its  popu- 
lation being  of  our  religion ;  and  it  is  also  one  of  the 
most  backward.  In  1871  its  population  was  147,864, 
and  to-day  it  is  only  112,334.  In  1871  there  were 
26,069  inhabited  houses  in  the  county;  to-day  there 
are  only  20,681  inhabited  houses,  and  there  are  1303 
uninhabited  houses.  This  magnificent  territory  con- 
tains 621,685  acres  of  tine  arable  land  under  grass  and 
crops  out  of  a  total  acreage  of  781,612.  The  Roman 
Catholic  bishop  of  Killaloe,  who  resides  at  Ennis,  is  the 
great  personage  ;  and  his  priests  are  the  ruling  spirits 
in  Clare.  In  1871,  the  Clare  priests,  monks,  and  nuns 
only  numbered  175  ;  to-day  the  admitted  number  of 
these  personages  has  increased  to  270.  During  the 
desertion  and  falling-in  of  6000  lay-folks'  roof-trees  in 

'   "Census  of  Ireland,"  1901. 


532  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

the  county,  and  while  the  lay  population  has  been 
diminishing  by  35,540,  the  officers  of  the  sacerdotal 
army  have  increased  by  close  on  100  per  cent. 

The  only  superior  education  for  male  Catholics  in  the 
county,  except  such  as  the  Christian  Brothers  give  to  a 
percentage  of  their  pupils,  is  to  be  had  at  St.  Flannan's 
Ecclesiastical  College  in  Ennis,  under  the  control  of 
Bishop  M'Redmond  and  a  number  of  priests,  at  which 
there  are  68  resident  pupils,  the  bulk  of  whom  must  be 
intended  for  the  priesthood. 

The  number  of  male  and  female  teachers  under 
sacerdotal  control  in  the  county  is  433;  and,  if  we 
add  the  number  of  priests,  monks,  and  nuns  admitted, 
namely,  270,  we  find  the  priests'  effective  force  in  the 
county  numbers  703  persons,^  The  imperial  govern- 
ment establishment  in  Clare,  male  and  female  civil 
service  officers  and  clerks,  is  only  143.  The  local 
government  establishment,  including  the  high  number 
of  414  police,  and  all  municipal,  parish,  union,  district, 
and  county  officials,  male  and  female,  only  amounts  to 
582  persons ;  that  is  to  say,  the  imperial  government 
is  only  one-fifth  and  the  local  government  about  four- 
fifths  of  the  sacerdotal  service  in  the  county,  without 
including  the  subsidiary  religious  people. 

There  is  nothins:  to  be  said  about  Clare  which  would 
be  creditable  to  its  inhabitants.  Nature  has  endowed 
Clare  with  a  noble  Atlantic  coastline,  and  the  Shannon 
embraces  the  county  on  the  east  and  south,  the  deep 
rich  loam  along  its  banks  being,  perhaps,  the  best  land 
in  Ireland.  But  its  people  are  not  in  a  condition  to 
take  advantage  of  their  opportunities,  either  by  making 
the  county  particularly  pleasant  for  strangers,  or  by 
developing  their  possessions  and  making  their  home 
comfortable  for  themselves. 

^  "Census  of  Ireland,"  1901. 


NENAGH  WORKHOUSE  NUNS  533 

The  diocese  of  Killaloe  also  includes  North  Tipperary 
and  a  small  portion  of  King's  County.  The  admitted 
number  of  priests  in  the  diocese,  excluding  those  in 
King's  County,  is  156,  monks  63,  nuns  168  ;  total  387. 
The  Franciscans  are  established  at  Ennis ;  the  mendi- 
cant-milling Cistercians  are  at  Roscrea,  where  they 
admit  a  community  of  56,  of  whom  13  are  priests.^ 
There  are  Christian  Brothers  at  Ennis,  Nenagh,  and 
Kilrush,  whose  numbers  are  not  given.  There  are 
Sisters  of  Mercy  at  Ennis,  Nenagh,  Kilrush,  Kilkee, 
TuUa,  Borrisokane,  and  Killaloe.  There  is  a  convent  of 
the  Sacred  Heart  at  Roscrea.  The  Sisters  of  Mercy  are 
installed  at  Ennis,  Kilrush,  and  Nenagh  poorhouses. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Nenagh  Guardians  on  the  5  th  of 
June  1902,  we  are  told  that  "the  charges  of  neglect 
made  by  the  medical  officer  against  the  nuns  acting 
as  nurses  in  the  workhouse  were  again  under  con- 
sideration."'^ Sister  Mary  Magdalene,  the  head  nurse, 
wrote  denying  that  the  fever  patients  were  '  left  like 
dogs,'  as  a  paid  wardswoman,  who  had  considerable 
experience,  was  in  charge  of  them  until  the  trained 
nurse  came." 

What  an  inadequate  explanation  to  advance  in  answer 
to  a  charge !  Where  was  the  head  nurse  herself  ? 
Why  should  she  be  allowed  to  transfer  her  respon- 
sibility, fii'st  to  a  "  paid  "  wardswoman,  and  then  to  a 
"  trained  nurse "  ?  The  head  nurse  is  paid  a  large 
salary ;  is  she  not  a  "  trained  nurse  "  ?  If  she  be  not 
a  "  trained  nurse,"  why  is  she  employed  ?  Is  it  hccausc 
she  is  a  nun  ;  just  as  certain  men  are  appointed  "  paid  " 
Fellows  of  the  Royal  University  because  they  are 
Jesuits  ?  Head  Nurse  Sister  Mary  Magdalene  is  re- 
ported as  further  stating  that  "  there  was  no  truth  in 
the  statement  that  the  hospital  was  devoid  of  cooking 

^  Catholic  Directory,  1902.  '  Freeman,  June  7,  1902. 


534  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

utensils.  The  nurses  informed  her  that  they  had  all 
they  required  in  that  line ;  .  .  .  and  the  filthy  state 
alluded  to  was  mortar  and  lime  left  after  some 
plasterers," 

Taking  this  religious  head  nurse  at  her  own  valua- 
tion, she  must  be  adjudged  to  possess  no  first-hand 
knowledge  about  the  incident  in  question  ;  she  can  only 
aver  that  "  the  nurses  informed  her  "  ! 

The  parish  priest  of  Nenagh,  Dean  White,  was  present 
at  this  meeting  of  guardians,  as  spokesman  for  the 
impugned  nuns.  We  are  informed  that  Head  Nurse 
Sister  Mary  Magdalene  "  also  made  a  statement  bearing 
out  what  Dean  White  stated  the  doctor  said — that  the 
mcTis  were  not  required  there ;  that  they  icere  siini'ply 
taking  the  bread  out  of  the  mouths  of  the  trained  nurses ; 
and  that  the  board  would  agree  with  him  only  that  they 
hadn't  the  pluck  to  say  so." 

I  agree  with  that  alleged  statement  of  the  doctor's. 
Since  the  nuns  are  not  trained  nurses,  they  are  not 
required  in  the  workhouses.  They  certainly  deprive 
lay  Catholic  nurses  of  employment. 

The  doctor  "  came  before  the  board,"  and  is  reported 
to  have  said  that  "  as  the  matter,  which  was  a  serious 
one,  had  gone  so  far,  and  as  a  sworn  inquiry  had  been 
called  for,  he  left  it  to  that," 

One  of  the  priests'  supporters  on  the  board  said  "  he 
was  decidedly  against  sworn  inquiries," 

The  parish  priest  then  joined  the  discussion  and 
pressed  the  doctor,  saying :  "  You  ought,  at  least,  to 
make  me  an  explanation." 

Oh,  if  the  doctor  Avould  only  say  he  had  not  said  so  ! 

But  the  doctor  bravely  replied,  "  I'll  give  you  no 
explanation,  sir  !  "    And  the  doctor  left  the  room. 

The  priest  then  addressed  the  board,  and  is  reported 
to  have  said  : — 


NUNS  TRIUMPHANT  53^ 

"  The  nuns  have  no  protection  from  insult  unless  I 
do  it,  and  the  board  do  so,  and  unless  you  protect  them 
I  will  be  put  to  the  necessity  of  speaking  to  the  bishop 
as  to  the  desirability  of  withdrawing  them.  What  are 
they  here  for  ?  It  is  not  for  purposes  of  their  own. 
They  would  be  more  properly  employed  in  their  oAvn 
quiet  convent,  away  from  the  atmosphere  of  a  work- 
house, which  is  not  congenial ;  nor  could  there  be  a 
place  more  unsuited  to  delicate-minded  women." 

Father  White  should  reply  to  his  own  question, 
"  What  are  they  there  for  ? "  since  they  are  unsuited 
for  the  position.  I  do  not  know  why  the  nuns  are 
established  in  all  the  workhouses  in  Catholic  Ireland ; 
nor,  looking  into  futurity,  can  I  say  why  they  will  soon 
be  installed  in  all  the  lunatic  asylums.  If  I  could 
follow  up  the  salaries  paid  to  those  ladies,  who  are 
under  a  vow  of  poverty,  one  could,  perhaps,  answer 
Father  White's  question ! 

A  sworn  inquu-y  Avas  held  on  the  23rd  of  June  1902, 
at  which  the  doctor  explained,  saying,  "  I  should  be 
the  last  man  to  say  a  word  against  the  sisters  in  any 
way."  ^     And  the  nuns  were  vindicated  ! 

I  trust  the  Local  Government  Board  will  give  every 
facility  to  poor-law  doctors  who  have  to  make  com- 
plaints against  those  religious  supernumeraries ;  for  the 
Government  may  rely  upon  it  that  it  is  only  in  very 
serious  cases  an  Irish  doctor  will  make  such  a  com- 
plaint. There  are  reprehensible  influences  at  work  on 
the  Catholic  doctors  of  Ireland  holding  such  positions 
which  render  it  almost  impossible  that  one  of  them 
should  ever  screw  up  the  courage  necessary  to  make 
a  complaint  against  the  religious,  no  matter  what 
dereliction  of  duty  may  be  going  on  under  his  eyes. 

My  well-considered  opinion  is  that  the  Local  Govern- 
ment Board  have  acted  illegally,  and  have  been  guilty 

1  Freeman,  June  25,  1902. 


536  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

of  a  breach  of  public  trust,  in  sanctioning  the  appoint- 
ment of  salaried  religious  officials  in  the  poorhouses, 
who  perform  no  useful  duties.  Allowing  for  excep- 
tional cases,  it  may  be  safely  laid  down  that  the  nun, 
wherever  she  be — whether  in  an  orphanage,  an  in- 
dustrial school,  a  poorhouse,  a  national  school,  or  a 
hospital — behaves  herself  just  as  if  she  were  in  a  con- 
vent ;  that  is  to  say,  she  does  nothing  but  go  through 
a  religious  routine,  and  draw  the  money. 

The  Local  Government  Board  recently  appointed  a 
Protestant  lady,  a  Mrs.  Dickie,  to  the  position  of  in- 
spector of  boarded-out  children  in  Irish  Poor  Law 
Unions ;  and  immediately  priest-inspired  resolutions 
were  framed  for  all  the  Catholic  Poor  Law  Boards, 
not  alone  condemning  the  appointment  as  "  an  insult 
to  our  holy  religion,"  because  of  the  lady's  religion,  but 
declining  to  recognise  her,  or  even  to  allow  her  to  enter 
upon  her  duties  in  the  Unions.  Oh,  it  would  not  suit 
the  priests  that  a  keen,  sensible  pair  of  Protestant  eyes 
should  concentrate  their  gaze  on  the  boarded-out 
Catholic  children  of  Ireland  !  The  Nenagh  Guardians 
met  on  the  19th  of  June  1902,  and  passed  a  resolution 
"  prohibiting  the  clerk  from  giving  this  lady  (Mrs. 
Dickie)  any  information  that  would  facilitate  her  in- 
spection in  any  way,"  and  ordering  copies  of  the  reso- 
lution to  be  sent  to  all  the  Unions  in  Ireland.  On  the 
same  day  similar  resolutions  were  passed  at  Carlow, 
Drogheda,  and  Navan.  Such  is  the  position  of  reli- 
gious intolerance  and  disingenuousness  at  which  we 
have  arrived  in  Catholic  Ireland. 

One  county  in  Ireland  now  alone  remains  to  be  re- 
ferred to,  and  that  is  Limerick.  To  do  it  justice  one 
would  require  more  space  than  I  can  give  it.  In 
1 90 1  it  contained  146,018  people,  of  whom  138,693 
are  Roman  Catholics,  the  remainder  being  members 


IN  LIMERICK  537 

of  the  Reformed  Churches.  Out  of  the  total  popula- 
tion, 38,085  are  in  the  city  of  Limerick,  the  balance, 
107)933.  being  distributed  over  the  county,  the  soil  of 
which  is  remarkably  fertile.  The  Golden  Vale,  which 
commences  in  Tipperary,  runs  westward  through  the 
centre  of  Limerick,  and  continues  itself  in  the  rich 
plains  of  North  Kerry  to  the  point  where  they  gently 
slope  into  the  Atlantic  wave.  There  are  425,256  acres 
of  magnificent  pasture  in  the  county,  and  161,253 
acres  of  tillage,  divided  into  13,594  holdings,  having  a 
mean  annual  valuation  of  ;^3  2  each.  The  Limerick 
farmer  loves  to  stretch  lethargically  on  the  backs  of 
his  grassy  fences  admiring  his  cows,  as  they  graze  in 
the  ancient  pastures  and  chew  luxuriously  the  succulent 
cud ;  or  enjoying  the  antics  of  his  growing  calves.  And 
he  passes  through  life  in  a  never-ending  doze.  His 
fences  are  in  bad  repair ;  his  gates  are  futile.  When 
the  stern  necessities  of  the  case  force  him  to  a  little 
tillage,  it  is  of  the  most  perfunctory  character ;  even  his 
hay  is  badly  saved. 

Limerick  bacon  is  famous,  and  the  world  cannot  get 
enough  of  it ;  but  the  Limerick  farmer  cannot  be  got 
to  produce  suitable  hogs  in  sufficient  quantities  to  meet 
the  requirements  of  the  manufacturers.  The  Limerick 
farmer  is,  in  fact,  under  the  spell  of  the  Priest  in 
Power ;  whereas  the  Limerick  manufacturer,  whether 
of  bacon,  flour,  military  clothing,  or  condensed  milk,  is 
not  hypnotised  by  sacerdotalism.  While  the  manufac- 
turers are  minding  their  proper  business,  the  Catholics 
of  Limerick  are  busy  about  those  religious  concerns 
which  occupy  us  all  over  Munster,  Leinster,  and  Con- 
naught.  The  value  of  the  holy  oil  of  the  Limerick 
Dominicans  has  been  already  referred  to  ;  but  there  are 
far  more  important  religious  emporiums  in  Limerick 
than    the    Dominicans'    church    and    priory.      Bishop 


538  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

O'Dwyer  has  his  palace  in  the  midst  of  his  subjects 
in  the  city  of  Limerick.  Oh,  those  CathoHc  Irishmen 
of  Limerick,  dreaming  through  the  present,  living  in 
the  past ! 

"  The  treasured  wrongs  of  fifty  years  are  in  their  hearts  to-day — 

The  treaty  broken  ere  the  ink  wherewith  'twas  writ  could  dry  ; 

Their  plundered  homes,  their  ruined  shrines,  their  women's  part- 
ing cry  ; 

Their  priesthood  hunted  down  like  wolves,  their  country  over- 
thrown— 

Each  looks  as  if  revenge  for  all  were  staked  on  him  alone." 

Sarsfield  Bridsre  across  the  Shannon  is  not  a  toll 
bridge ;  but  it  was  built  long  before  Bishop  O'Dwj^er's 
time,  long  before  the  religious  reign  of  the  priest  in  the 
school  began  to  stupefy  Limerick  children.  There  are 
no  bridofes  across  the  streets,  but  the  mud  is  allowed 
to  rest  in  the  thoroughfares  by  the  religious  people  who 
have  charge  of  the  city,  and  there  are  continuous  dis- 
cussions and  violent  altercations  as  to  how  to  deal  with 
it.  A  sensible  Irish-American,  Mr.  Nevins,  having  re- 
turned with  a  fortune  and  settled  down  near  Limerick, 
offered  to  stone-pave  the  streets  and  keep  them  clean, 
if  the  corporation  would  contribute  a  reasonable  sum 
for  the  work  to  repay  outlay  and  moderate  interest. 

The  business-like  proposal  paralysed  the  city  of 
Limerick  !  A  great  many  special  meetings  were  called 
and  volumes  of  terrific  expletives  were  erupted — just 
previous  to  the  eruption  of  Mount  Pelee,  in  the  year 
I  go  2 — before  the  Limerick  city  fathers  could  realise  the 
gist  of  what  Mr.  Nevins  meant.  The  Royal  Arms  were 
stolen  from  the  City  Hall,  and  many  other  strange  oc- 
currences took  place  during  the  prolongation  of  the  dis- 
putes, while  the  citizens  were  endeavouring  to  understand 
Mr.  Nevins.  A  councillor  asked  if  Mr.  Nevins  could  see 
his  way  to  do  the  work  for  nothing.     But  Mr.  Nevins 


THE  PRIEST  IN  LIMERICK  539 

said  NO,  in  tones  that  might  be  heard  in  New  Jersey, 
The  topic  was  dropped,  and  mud-wading  goes  on  as 
before  in  George  Street  and  William  Street,  and  in  Clare 
Street,  where  Mary  Anne  Wallace,  a  Catholic  factory 
girl,  danced  herself  over  the  lampless  jetty's  edge  in 
the  dark  on  Good  Friday  night,  1902,  and  sank,  never 
to  rise  again,  by  Shannon's  shore.  "  There  was  a  hun- 
dred boys  and  girls  there,"  says  an  eye-witness.  "  It 
was  dark  at  the  time.  None  of  the  dancers  tried  to 
save  her ! " ^ 

The  city  of  Limerick  is  divided  into  five  Catholic 
parishes,  two  of  them  being  in  Bishop  O'Dwyer's 
hands,  containing  3  parish  priests,  2  administrators, 
and  1 2  curates.  The  Augustinians,  Dominicans,  Fran- 
ciscans, Redemptorists,  and  Jesuits  are  all  established 
in  spacious  and  palatial  quarters  in  the  city,  and  they 
admit  a  combined  force  of  54  regular  priests."  There- 
fore the  city  is  practically  ruled  by  the  regular 
priests. 

Besides  the  bishop  and  7 1  secular  and  regular  priests 
in  the  city  of  Limerick,  there  are  100  secular  priests 
admitted  in  the  county ;  total  priests,  171.  The  city 
of  Limerick  contains  a  Presentation  Convent,  with  35 
admitted  nuns.  There  are  three  establishments  of 
Sisters  of  Mercy — namely,  St.  Mary's,  where  they  con- 
duct national  schools  ;  Mount  St.  Vincent,  24  nuns, 
where  they  have  an  orphanage  and  "  industrial  ' 
school,  for  which  they  draw  ;^2640,  los.  lod.  per 
annum  of  public  money,  or  i^2o,  i8s.  2d.  per  head  for 
1 30  derelict  little  girls  ;  Limerick  Poorhouse,  in  which 
they  have  a  community  of  1 3  nuns ;  and  the  "  training  " 
college  of  Mary  Immaculate.  The  Faithful  Companions 
of  Jesus  are  at  Laurel  Hill — the  convent  where  the 
wholesale  poisoning  took  place  four  or  five  years  ago, 

*  Freeman,  March  31,  1902.'  ^  Catholic  Directory,  1902. 


540  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

when  the  bulk  of  the  nuns  were  poisoned  on  a  single 
day,  and  many  of  them  died — and  at  Bruff. 

The  Convent  of  the  Good  Shepherd  in  Clare  Street, 
of  which  we  shall  hear  more  in  the  present  chapter, 
is  an  immense  institution,  containing  78  admitted 
nuns  and  novices;  an  asylum  with  100  selected,  poor. 
Limerick  Magdalens ;  an  "industrial"  school  with  109 
derelict  little  girls,  for  whose  support  the  State  pays 
-^1637,  7s.  id.  per  annum;  a  reformatory  containing 
27  criminal  little  girls,  for  whom  the  State  pays 
£661,  14s.  I  id.,  or  £24.,  I  OS.  2d.  per  child  per  annum  ; 
and  an  "  Angels'  Home  "  for  the  girls  discharged  from 
the  "  industrial "  school  when  out  of  employment ! 
What  a  factory !  That  is  the  manufacture  to  which 
the  Catholics  of  Limerick  can  point  as  their  contribu- 
tion, under  the  guidance  of  their  priests,  to  the  pros- 
perity of  the  city  ! 

The  Convent  of  Marie  Reparatrice  is  at  Laurel  Hill 
Avenue,  and  there  "  ladies  are  received  for  the  purpose 
of  making  retreats."  The  Sisters  of  the  Little  Com- 
pany of  Mary  are  installed  in  St.  John's  Hospital. 

The  Christian  Brothers  are  established  in  strength  in 
the  city,  and  manage  an  "  industrial "  school,  for  which 
they  draw  £2gy6,  8s.  Qd.  per  annum.  The  Brothers  in 
the  city  do  not  admit  their  strength,  but  it  is  stated 
that  there  are  38  of  them  in  the  diocese.^ 

Of  the  nine  installations  of  nuns  in  the  city  only 
four  admit  their  strength,  and  they  number  150.  If 
we  put  the  remaining  five  settlements  down  at  150,  we 
should  have  a  total  of  close  upon  300  nuns  in  the  city. 

The  following  other  convents  are  in  the  county: 
Sisters  of  Mercy  at  Newcastle  West ;  Rathkeale ;  Rath- 
keale  Poorhouse ;  Adare ;  Abbeyfeale ;  and  Ballingarry ; 
most  of  them  conducting  national  schools,  and  drawing 
public  money  for  that  and  other  purposes. 

^  Catholic  Directory,  1902. 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  ARM  541 

Tlie  principal  members  of  the  sacerdotal  establish- 
ment in  the  city  and  county  are  admitted  at,  priests 
199,  monks  59,  and  nuns  408.^ 

There  is  an  ecclesiastical  college,  St.  Munchin's,  con- 
taining 9  priests  ;  a  Jesuit  College,  Mungret,  containing 
I  o  priests  ;  and  a  Jesuit  School,  The  Crescent.  The 
College  of  Mary  Immaculate  for  "  training  "  national 
school-mistresses,  conducted  by  the  Sisters  of  Mercy, 
was  opened  in  1902,  after  an  enormous  expenditure  of 
public  money.  It  may  bo  safely  asserted  that,  with 
the  subsidiary  religious,  and  including  theological 
students,  novices,  &c.,  the  sacerdotal  organisation  in 
Limerick  runs  up  to  1000,  without  including  the 
national  teachers. 

Those  who  have  read  this  work  so  far  are  aware  that 
the  sacerdotal  establishment  in  every  county  in  Ireland, 
except  two  or  three  counties  in  Ulster,  is  far  stronger 
than  the  services  of  the  imperial  and  local  governments; 
and  it  is  so  in  Limerick.  It  may  be  fairly  laid  down, 
that  wherever  the  imperial  or  local  authorities  find 
themselves  at  variance  with  the  priests,  the  authorities 
always  }deld  gracefully,  or  acknowledge  themselves 
beaten  and  precipitately  retreat.  They  can  venture 
to  contest  a  position  with  the  Irish  members  of 
parliament,  the  landlords,  or  any  organisation  or  class 
of  Irish  lay-folk ;  but  they  always  defer  to  the  priests' 
superior  power,  which  is  now  estabhshed  beyond  doubt 
by  the  official  returns. 

A  Limerick  Redemptorist  priest  happened  to  be 
prowling  and  scowling  about  the  corner  of  Thomas 
Street,  in  the  holy  city  of  the  violated  treaty,  on  a 
fine  September  forenoon  in  i  898,  and  he  saw  a  woman 
coming  out  of  a  doctor's  house,  a  Catholic  woman,  a 
poor  Catholic  woman. 

i  "Census  of  Ireland,"  1901. 


542  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

And,  perhaps,  the  Redemptorist  mused  :  "  Ho,  ho !  I, 
a  doctor  of  souls,  cannot  allow  a  woman,  a  Catholic 
woman,  and,  above  all,  a  poor  Catholic  woman,  to 
consult  a  doctor  of  bodies  without  explanation  !  "  And 
he  stopped  her  and  probed  the  suspicious  matter  to  the 
bottom  ;  and  he  learned  that  a  young  doctor,  possessing 
the  highest  medical  qualifications,  but  associated  with 
the  Irish  Church  Missions  in  Dublin,  had  given  the 
woman  free  medical  advice ;  and  that  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  speaking  to  his  patients  about — Christ ! 

Now,  if  the  woman  had  danced  herself  into  the  Shan- 
non while  engaged  in  the  celebration  of  the  anniversary 
of  Christ's  death  on  Calvary,  the  Redemptorist  would, 
perhaps,  have  taken  a  pinch  of  snuff  and  passed  on.  If 
she  had  told  him  that  the  doctor  had  spoken  to  her  about 
St.  Expedit,  or  advised  her  to  pay  a  Redemptorist  to 
say  a  Gregorian  Mass  for  the  Holy  Souls,  or  had  sent 
her  to  look  for  a  zelatrice,  or  recommended  her  to  get 
some  Limerick  Dominican  oil,  then,  perhaps,  all  would 
have  been  well. 

But  to  speak  of  Christ !  Infandum  !  And  to  intro- 
duce the  New  Testament,  containing  an  account  of  His 
life  and  acts  and  words — a  little  book  which  a  business 
man  may  read  at  a  few  evening  sittings — was  not  that 
"  a  defilement  of  faith,  eminently  dangerous  to  souls," 
as  Pius  VII.  said  ?  Did  not  the  Council  of  Trent  lay  it 
down  "  That  if  any  one  shall  dare  to  read  or  keep  in 
his  possession  that  book,"  without  a  licence  from  an 
Inquisitor  granted  upon  a  certificate  from  the  person's 
confessor,  "  he  shall  not  receive  absolution  till  he  has 
given  it  up  to  his  ordinary  "  ?  ^  And  the  Redemptorist 
may  have  pondered :  "  My  occupation  would  soon  be 
gone  if  that  poor  woman,  and  the  thousands  of  other 
poor  women  like  her,  got  to  know  the  truth  about  Christ. 

1  Concil.  Trid.  de  Libria  Prohihitia. 


THE  LIMERICK  REDEMPTORIST         543 

The  ecclesiastical  arm  must  forthwith  grapple  with  this 
nefarious  plot,  let  the  secular  law  be  what  it  may  ! " 

But  let  us  end  conjecture,  and  hear  from  the  Re- 
demptorist  what  he  did  on  that  memorable  occasion. 

The  doctor's  door  was  open,  and  the  Redemptorist 
actually  walked  in.  Several  poor  Catholic  people, 
men  and  women,  were  inside.  "  There  were  eleven  or 
twelve  women,  and  three  or  four  men  present,"  says 
the  Redemptorist.^ 

"  I  said,"  he  tells  us,  " '  there  are  Catholics  here 
present,  and  if  so  they  should  clear  out  at  once  ! '  " 

"  How  dare  you  come  into  my  house  ? "  exclaimed 
the  doctor,  rushing  out  from  his  consulting-room. 

"  There  is  the  door  open  and  I  walked  in,"  replied 
the  Redemptorist  sternly,  knowing  his  own  power ;  "  I 
understand  that  some  of  these  people  are  Catholics, 

and  THEY  MUST  LEAVE  THIS  HOUSE," 

"  Get  out  of  this  at  once,"  said  the  doctor. 

"  Just  you  try  and  put  me  out,"  said  the  Redemp- 
torist, trailing  his  robe  on  the  floor. 

The  Redemptorist  adds  :  "  I  walked  to  the  steps  " — 
from  which  I  infer  that  the  doctor  looked  muscular — 
"  and  some  of  the  women  went  out.  The  doctor  banged 
the  door.     Some  of  the  Catholics  were  inside  then." 

Then  the  Redemptorist  seized  the  doctor's  knocker, 
and,  in  his  own  words,  "  knocked  at  the  door,  and  kept 
knocking."  A  crowd  collected  and  a  scene  of  disturb- 
ance followed ;  and  the  Redemptorist,  representing  the 
ecclesiastical  arm  in  Limerick,  desisted  for  that  day, 
triumphant  and  uninterrupted  by  the  inferior  secular 
arm. 

From  October  1897  to  October  1898  the  number  of 
difterent  individuals  who  had  voluntarily  attended  the 
mission  doctor's  consulting-room  is  stated  at  3458 — 

'  Ii-ish  Catholic,  October  1898. 


544  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

poor,  neglected  Roman  Catholics  almost  entirely ;  and, 
even  in  the  year  following  the  ban  of  the  Redemptorist, 
the  number  is  given  as  3000,  which  shows  how  sadly 
in  need  of  medical  assistance,  and  how  unaverse  to  hear 
the  truth  about  Christ,  poor  lay  Catholics  are  ! 

On  Sunday  morning  Limerick  Catholics  were  warned 
from  all  the  pulpits  to  boycott  the  doctor.  The  Re- 
demptorist himself  harangued  his  Confraternity  of  the 
Holy  Family  and  told  them,  in  the  course  of  a  long 
sermon,  that  "  these  inhuman  creatures,  who  gloated 
in  the  sufferings  of  those  whom  they  called  obstinate 
and  incorrigible  Papists,  were  the  representatives  of 
those  who,  in  a  former  age,  burned,  hanged,  outraged, 
and  robbed  their  unfortunate  fellow-countrymen. 
There  are,  yes,  here  in  this  city  of  Limerick,  there 
are  men  and — God  save  the  mark  ! — women,  too,  who, 
if  they  could  set  up  outside  this  church  their  gallows 
and  triangle,  would  drag  us  from  our  homes,  and 
scourge,  burn,  and  hang  us  without  mercy.  .  .  .  Men 
of  the  confraternity,  stand  up  on  your  feet,  raise  up 
your  hands  and  say  after  me — '  I  protest  in  the  sight 
of  God  against  the  attack  which  has  been  made  by  the 
bigots  of  Limerick  upon  our  religion.  I  promise  never 
to  attend  myself,  and  to  prevent  all  whom  I  can  from 
attending  this  souper  dispensary.' "  ^  What  a  "  holy 
family"  the  Limerick  confraternity  must  have  been 
that  evening  in  the  Redemptorist  church  ! 

A  great  deal  of  unchristian  conduct  followed  these 
events.  The  house  of  a  Limerick  man  who  was  said 
to  have  become  a  Protestant  was  attacked  in  the  small 
hours  of  the  morning,  his  windows  were  broken,  and  he 
and  his  family  had  to  escape  by  the  back  door — first 
from  the  house  and  afterwards  from  Limerick ! 

The  imperial  authorities  dared  not  interfere,  as  it  was 
^  Irish  Catholic,  October  1898. 


THE   WOMEN   OF  LIMERICK  545 

a  religious  case.  If  the  crime  had  been  connected  with 
land  or  trade,  they  could  have  intervened. 

The  doctor,  in  the  year  1901,  received  an  order  from 
a  Dublin  court  of  justice  empowering  him  to  receive  in 
loco  parentis  the  custody  of  a  little  girl  then  confined 
in  Clare  Street  Convent,  Limerick.  And  he  went  to 
that  great  emporium,  accompanied  by  some  policemen, 
and  asked  for  the  child  ;  but  the  nuns  contemptuously 
refused  to  give  her  up.  The  Redemptorist  again  ad- 
dressed his  "  Holy  Family,"  telling  them  that  Dr.  Long, 
"  that  pious  fraud  of  Thomas  Street,  the  law-breaker, 
has  gone  down  to  Clare  Street  Convent,  to  those  un- 
protected holy  ladies,  and  has  grossly  insulted  them, 
guarded  hi/  Government  officers,  and  we  are  to  stand 
BY  and  witness  this  without  interfering.  Our  blood  is 
up.  I  WILL  NOT  be  answerable  for  the  peace  of  the  city, 
nor  for  the  actions  of  the  women  of  Clare  Street."  And 
he  stings  his  male  audience  by  saying  of  the  women : 
"  One  of  them  is  worth  the  Avhole  of  you,  and  I  leave 
that  pious  fraud  of  Thomas  Street  in  their  hands  ! " 

The  women  of  Limerick  have  loni;  been  notorious  ; 
hence  the  Redemptorist's  appeal  to  the  jetty-dancers, 
when  he  finds  that  the  men  do  not  respond  to  his  in- 
citements. The  women  now  began  to  pelt  not  only 
Dr.  Long,  but  Mrs.  Long,  in  the  streets  with  flour  and 
stones. 

The  Redemptorist's  objection  to  the  interference  of 
"  Government  officers "  in  such  purely  ecclesiastical 
matters  produced  the  desked  effect.  The  magistrates, 
presided  over  by  a  stipendiary,  unanimously  dismissed 
a  charge  brought  by  the  pohce  against  the  ringleaders 
of  one  of  those  mobs  who  pelted  the  doctor  and  his  wife. 

Dr.  Long  summoned  a  priest  for  having  used  threaten- 
ing language  to  him  in  presence  of  an  excited  crowd 
when   he    was   attending    a    Protestant   patient.     The 

2  M 


546  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

priest  stated  that  he  had  acted  "  in  discharge  of  his 
duty  as  a  priest,  knowing  Dr.  Long  to  be  a  proselytiser, 
and  thinking  he  would  interfere  with  the  Catholic 
people  of  the  house."  Recognising  that  it  was  an 
ecclesiastical  case,  the  magistrates  at  once  dismissed 
the  summons.  And,  after  the  decision,  Father  Shana- 
han,  P.P.,  one  of  the  parish  priests  of  Limerick,  boldly 
stood  up  in  open  court,  and  is  reported  to  have 
confirmed  the  decision  of  the  magistrates  in  these, 
amongst  other,  weighty  words :  "  If  they  found  men 
like  Long  trying  to  rob  them  of  their  faith,  which  they 
preferred   to    their    lives,    he   feared   very   much,    no 

MATTER   WHAT    THE    BENCH    HAD    SAID,  the    pOOr    people 

of  his  own  parishes  will  have  their  own  way  ! "  ^ 

Doctor  Long's  friends  had  appealed  to  the  county 
inspector  of  constabulary  to  protect  him,  but  the  in- 
spector could  do  nothing  except  to  threaten,  in  a  letter 
dated  February  28,  1 90 1 , "  to  place  restrictions  upon  his 
(Dr.  Long's)  movements  through  the  city."  The  police 
felt  equal  to  restraining  Dr.  Long,  but  to  restrain  the 
vastly  superior  sacerdotal  army  was  beyond  the  power 
of  the  constabulary.  The  judge  of  assize  who  visited 
Limerick  on  the  6th  of  March  1901,  being  a  Catholic, 
and  diagnosing  the  situation,  though  no  case  appeared 
in  his  list  in  connection  with  the  disturbance,  ranged 
himself  humbly  on  the  side  of  Might :  "  If  the  people 
would  take  my  advice,"  he  said,^  thinking  perhaps  how 
little  weight  it  would  carry  in  Limerick  compared  with 
the  advice  of  a  Redemptorist,  "  they  would  leave  those 
agents  of  that  society  entirely  alone.  They  would  pass 
them  and  not  notice  them.  They  could  not  make 
martyrs  of  them ;  because,  gentlemen,  if  they  make 
martyrs  of  them  they  only  secure  that  the  monetary 
stream  comes  in  \  greater  volume  from  England ! " 
^  Daily  Exjiras  June  8,  1901.  '  Ibid.,  March  7,  1902. 


JUDGE  AND   BISHOP  547 

And  he  added  that  the  "  respectable  Protestant  com- 
munity "  did  not  associate  themselves  with  Dr.  Long. 
This  humbly-expressed  judicial  advice  may  have  gone 
farther  than  loftier  sentiments.  It  may  have  roused 
the  sordid,  mercenary  spirit  of  the  priests ;  and,  as  all 
Catholics  know,  it  is  only  on  the  question  of  money 
that  the  Irish  priest  has  any  sensitiveness.  It  may 
have  set  the  ecclesiastical  powers  thinking  :  "  Money  ! 
Did  we  hear  aright  ?  We  must  mend  our  hand.  If 
anything  that  we  do  can  result  in  making  money  for 
any  one  but  ourselves,  then,  assuredly,  what  we  are 
doing  must  be  wrong."  The  red-herring  was  a  sordid 
one ;  but,  let  us  hope,  it  helped  the  weaker  side,  that 
is,  the  imperial  government's  force  in  Limerick,  in  its 
evasion  of  a  struggle  with  the  more  powerful  sacerdotal 
service,  and  drew  off  the  bandogs  for  a  while  ! 

The  Church  of  Ireland  Bishop  of  Derry  scathingly 
referred  to  the  judge's  deliverance  in  a  really  able  pro- 
nouncement which  our  bishops  might  well  model  their 
style  upon : — 

"  For  the  position  which  Lord  O'Brien  holds  I  have 
as  high  esteem  as  any  person,  except,  perhaps — as 
every  reader  of  the  newspapers  has  observed  with 
amusement — except  Lord  O'Brien  himself  But  when 
Lord  O'Brien  allows  himself  to  say,  as  a  judicial  pro- 
nouncement, that  a  society,  of  which  an  Irish  archbishop 
and  six  Irish  bishops  are  patrons,  has  no  respectable 
person  associated  with  it,  then  I  tell  Lord  O'Brien  that 
he  is  impertinent ;  and  I  say  further  that  when  he  used 
the  bencn  of  justice  to  rid  his  vexed  spirit  of  its  perilous 
stuft' — stuft' — Shakespeare  always  uses  the  right  word — 
he  did  what  he  could  to  strip  his  great  place  of  its 
immemorial  honours — a  place  which  is  haunted  by  the 
memories  of  great  men,  self-contained,  prudent  and 
reticent  judges,  whose  honours  cling  around  it  still,  a 
faded  splendour  wan."  ^ 

'  Daily  Exprets,  April  17,  1901. 


548  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

Derry  is  a  long  way  from  Limerick,  and  Derry  is  not 
under  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction.  Sucli  words  could  not 
be  uttered  in  Limerick.  I  shall  not  write  anything 
capable  of  hurting  Lord  O'Brien's  feelings.  Although 
I  object  to  the  sacerdotal  influences  which  are  para- 
mount in  promoting  Catholics  in  Ireland,  and  although 
Lord  O'Brien  is  a  promoted  Catholic  of  the  old  type, 
still  I  do  not  allege  that  Lord  O'Brien  declared  himself 
a  priest's  man  to  the  Government  before  promotion. 
And  I  can  truly  say  that  I  believe  he  is  doing  his  best. 

But  if  the  bishop  had  been  a  reader  of  the  pious 
Freeman,  or  any  of  the  sacerdotal  newspapers,  he 
would  be  aware  that  the  most  aspersed  men  in  nation- 
alist Ireland  are  the  Roman  Catholic  judges  of  the 
superior  and  inferior  courts.  Whenever  a  Government 
seeks  to  justify  its  passing  over  a  Roman  Catholic 
claimant  for  office  it  should  consult  the  files  of  the 
sacerdotal  press  of  Ireland,  where  it  will  find  a  thousand 
reasons  why  almost  every  Irish  Catholic  who  at  the 
moment  holds  office  should  never  have  been  appointed 
to  his  position — which  seems  creditable  to  the  office- 
holders, without  inquiring  into  how  they  obtained  office. 

The  licensed  car- drivers  of  Limerick  then  systemati- 
cally refused  to  drive  Dr.  Long  and  his  wife.  The 
young  doctor  appealed  to  the  corporation  to  put  the 
bye-laws  into  force  and  punish  the  drivers,  either  by 
fine  or  deprivation  of  licence,  for  refusing  to  ply  for 
hire  on  being  tendered  their  fare.  But  the  corpora- 
tion declined  to  interfere  or  give  any  relief.  Their 
doing  so  would  have  been  an  interference  with  the 
ecclesiastical  authorities,  and  they  had  not  the  courage 
to  enter  upon  so  perilous  a  path.  Then  the  corpora- 
tion sued  Dr.  Long,  before  the  magistrates,  for  obstruct- 
ing the  public  thoroughfare  by  asking  the  car-men  to 
drive  him  and  by  getting  on   their  cars,  in  the  hope 


DECLINE  OF   LIMERICK  549 

that  they  would  move  on,  and  thereby  collecting 
crowds.  But  the  magistrates  dismissed  the  case. 
They  were  not  prepared  to  bring  their  court  into 
collision  with  the  sacerdotal  organisation  either  ! 

It  is,  perhaps,  as  well  that  we  should  get  a  foretaste 
of  what  the  practice  in  ecclesiastical  cases  would  be 
under  a  native  Parliament  in  what  the  priests  call  "  an 
Irish  Ireland,"  meaning  thereby  a  priests'  Ireland. 

If  a  Catholic  doctor  in  the  most  Protestant  portion 
of  England  were  to  do  what  Dr.  Long  has  been  doing 
in  Limerick,  he  would  be  admired  by  the  entire  com- 
munity, instead  of  being  persecuted ;  and  not  a  hair  of 
his  head  would  be  suffered  to  come  to  harm  by  the 
English  authorities. 

But  no  Catholic  layman,  of  any  calling,  interests  him- 
self in  his  religion  sufficiently  to  do  such  courageous 
things  as  this  young  Irish  doctor  did.  We  leave  re- 
ligion to  our  "experts";  and  they  are  people  of  the 
calibre  and  temperament  of  the  secular  and  regular 
priests  of  Limerick. 

In  1 87 1 ,  when  Limerick  had  a  population  of  1 9 1 ,3  36, 
its  priests,  monks,  and  nuns  only  numbered  S73'i^  ^^ 
1 90 1,  when  Limerick  had  lost  45.318  of  its  people 
and  possessed  only  a  diminished  population  of  146,01 8, 
its  priests,  monks,  nuns,  and  theological  students,  with- 
out subsidiary  religious,  are  admitted  to  number  710,^ 
and  are  vastly  more  expensive  to  the  public,  in  pro- 
portion, than  was  the  clerical  establishment  of  thirty 
years  ago.  Including  subsidiaries,  I  have  estimated  the 
sacerdotal  service  at  1000. 

The  sacerdotal  establishment  in  the  city  and  county 
of  Limerick,  including  teachers  and  subsidiaries,  num- 
bers 1533  persons ;  ^  the  combined  services  of  the 
imperial  and  local  governments  only  number  936, 
'  "Census  of  Ireland,"  1871  and  1901. 


550  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

including  male  and  female  civil  servants,  all  county 
and  municipal  officials  and  police. 

The  city  of  Limerick  had  a  population  of  53,448  in 
the  year  1 851,  whereas  in  1901  its  inhabitants  only 
numbered  38,085  ;  a  decline  of  nearly  29  per  cent,  in 
fifty  years.  During  that  period  every  district  in  the 
United  Kingdom,  including  Protestant  Ireland,  and 
every  country  in  North  Europe  and  North  America, 
except  Catholic  Ireland,  have  been  developing  their 
resources  in  some  useful  direction  and  improving  their 
condition.  But  the  Roman  Catholics  of  the  well-placed 
city  of  Limerick,  the  favoured  capital  of  the  great 
Shannon  basin,  surrounded  by  the  richest  soil  in 
Ireland,  have  no  expansion  to  boast  of  but  the  growth 
of  their  sacerdotal  army,  the  intensification  of  religious 
ignorance  and  bigotry,  and  the  increasing  stupefaction 
of  the  bulk  of  their  co-religionists. 

The  priests,  monks,  nuns,  and  teachers  of  Munster, 
not  counting  the  subsidiary  religious,  numbered  8930 
in  1 90 1  ;  whereas  the  combined  services  of  the  imperial 
and  local  governments,  including  3163  police,  only 
numbered  6498  !  ^ 

The  priests,  monks,  and  nuns  of  Munster  in  1 90 1  are 
admitted  at  4704,^  whereas  in  1871,  when  the  popu- 
lation was  318,410  greater  than  it  is  to-day,  they  only 
numbered  2222.-^  If  we  take  the  subsidiary  religious 
into  account,  there  must  be,  at  a  moderate  estimate, 
8000  unmarried  youths  and  adults  devoted  to  the 
sacerdotal  service  in  Munster  at  present ;  or,  if  we 
include  national  teachers,  the  entire  sacerdotal  service 
in  the  province  is  12,226  ! 

1  "Census  of  Ireland,"  1871  and  1901. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

SUMMARY    OF    THE    PRIESTS'    POWER — THE 
ONE    LINK    MISSING 

The  immense  organisation  of  religious  which  I  have 
described  in  detail  in  the  foregoing  chapters,  and 
which  numbers,  at  a  moderate  estimate,  23,000  souls, 
virtually  controls  Ireland  at  present. 

The  practical  administration  of  the  Poor  Law  Acts 
is  tacitly  vested  in  them.  The  Roman  Catholic  dispen- 
sary doctors,  clerks  of  unions,  and  local  government 
inspectors  all  owe  their  appointments  to  sacerdotal 
influence ;  the  nuns  and  chaplains  rule  the  Catholic 
Unions ;  and  the  boards  of  guardians  are  used  as  a 
machinery  for  disseminating  sacerdotal  views  under 
the  guise  of  public  opinion ;  costly  conventual  resi- 
dences and  new  chapels  have  been  or  are  being  erected 
in  the  Union  grounds  all  over  Catholic  Ireland  for  the 
nuns,  and  at  immense  expense. 

The  total  poor-law  expenditure  in  1900  came  to 
;^ 1, 1 07,86 5,  and  of  this  large  annual  sum  we  may  truly 
say  the  priests  durectly  and  indirectly  control  four- 
fifths  ;  for,  outside  the  counties  of  Antrim,  Down,  Dcrry, 
and  Armagh,  they  are  omnipotent  in  the  Poor  Law 
Unions.  The  lay  Catholic  position  in  the  matter 
appears  to  be  that,  since  poor-law  administration  is 
"  charitable  "  business,  it  nmst  be  included  within  the 
sphere  of  the  sacerdotal  expert,  like  the  hospitals, 
orphanages,  and  all  other  Catholic,  charities.  One 
result  of  the  delegation  of  responsibility  to  the  priest  in 


552  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

this  department  is  that  the  average  poor-rate  in  Ulster, 
in  1900,  was  only  gld.,  whereas  in  Leinster  it  was 
IS.  4id.,  in  Connaught  is.  4fd.,  and  in  Munster  is.  pjd. 
The  administration  of  the  National  Education  Acts 
is  entirely  in  the  priests'  hands,  except  as  regards  the 
minority  of  Protestant  schools.  The  Commissioners  of 
Education  are  nominally  the  ruling  body,  but  all  genuine 
and  ultimate  power  reposes  in  the  priests,  A  striking 
consequence  is  that  the  expenditure  of  the  Education 
Department  is  increasing,  while  the  number  of  pupils 
on  the  rolls  of  the  schools  is  decreasing : — 


Year. 

No.  of  Pupils. 

Expenditure. 

1895        • 

1,018,408 

;{:i,  138,088 

1896 

808,939 

1,186,187 

1897        . 

798,972 

1,276,560 

1898        . 

794,818 

1,304,734 

1899        . 

785.139 

1,299,117 

1900 

745,861 

1,387,503 

A  decrease  in  five  years  of  25  per  cent,  in  the  pupils, 
accompanied  by  an  increase  of  ^249,4 1  5  in  the  annual 
expenditure  !  Of  865  i  national  schools  in  operation  in 
1899,  5893  were  under  exclusively  Roman  Catholic 
teachers,  and  5726  of  them  are  under  priest-managers, 
whose  signature  is  necessary  to  the  monthly  pay-sheets 
of  the  teachers  before  the  salaries  will  be  paid  by  the 
Department,  and  who  can  dismiss  the  teachers  on  a 
quarter's  notice,  independently  of  the  Board  of  Com- 
missioners. The  principal  and  assistant  teachers  under 
the  Board  of  Education  number  close  upon  1 3,000,  and 
of  these,  judging  by  the  relative  proportion  of  the 
schools,  70  per  cent,  must  be  Roman  Catholics.  That 
is  to  say,  about  9000  men  and  women,  paid  by  public 
money,  and  who  are  not  under  a  religious  vow  or  en- 
closed in  convents,  hold  their  positions  at  the  will  of 
the  priests.    Adding  them  to  the  23,000  principal  and 


THE  NATIONAL  SCHOOLS  553 

subsidiary  religious,  we  have  an  actual  enrolled  priests' 
army  of  about  32,000  souls  in  Ireland. 

The  total  expenditure  under  the  National  Board  of 
Education  in  the  year  ended  March  31,  1 90 1 ,  was 
^ 1 ,492,1 72,  and  over  three-fourths  of  that  large  annual 
sum  is  directly  amenable  to  priests'  influence. 

There  Avere  287  convent  and  monastic  schools  re- 
ceiving capitation  fees  from  the  National  Board  in 
1 900,  the  teachers  of  which  are  neither  certificated  nor 
under  the  control  of  the  Department,  the  money  so  paid 
being  a  direct  grant  to  the  priests'  organisation. 

The  Inspectors  of  National  Schools  are  civil  servants 
Avho  OAve  their  appointment  to  a  competitive  examina- 
tion conducted  b}'^  the  Civil  Service  Commissioners,  and 
therefore,  as  far  as  human  wit  can  devise,  they  are  safe 
from  corruption.  These  men  are  appointed  as  the 
result  of  open  examinations,  irrespective  of  religion  ; 
but  they  must  be  "  nominated  "  in  order  to  be  admitted 
to  examination.  By  this  system  of  "  nomination  "  a  due 
proportion  of  Roman  Catholics  is  secured  amongst  the 
inspectors ;  but,  Catholic  or  Protestant,  they  are,  as  far 
as  any  Government  official  can  be  in  Ireland,  indepen- 
dent of  the  priests'  jobbery,  having  to  pass  a  civil 
service  examination,  and  being  directly  under  the 
Commissioners.  These  well-educated,  independent  in- 
spectors used  to  examine  the  children,  and  the  Board 
used  to  reward  the  teacher,  upon  the  inspector's  reports, 
by  the  payment  of  "  result  fees."  In  a  word,  the  teacher 
was  paid  by  the  estimated  value  of  his  work.  This 
system  was  persistently  objected  to  by  the  priests.  It 
had  two  results ;  first,  it  kept  the  teachers  up  to  date, 
and,  second,  it  made  part  of  their  salaries  dependent 
on  the  inspectors.  A  few  years  ago  the  rules  were 
altered,  result  fees  were  abolished — the  entire  salaries 
of  the  teachers  are  now  under  the  power  of  the  priest- 


554  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

managers,  and  the  influence  of  the  only  independent 
body  of  civil  servants  connected  with  the  National 
Education  Board  of  Ireland  has  been  diminished.  The 
teacher  will  only  have  to  please  his  priest  henceforward  ; 
and,  bad  as  the  national  schools  have  been  in  the  past, 
they  will  in  the  future  be  of  decreasing  value  to  the 
country,  but  of  increasing  value  to  the  priests. 

Many  other  alterations  have  been  made  in  order  to 
conciliate  the  priests  and  meet  their  wishes  in  making 
the  schools  as  useless  as  possible.  Rev.  Dr.  Greer  of 
Armagh,  a  Protestant  clergyman,  complains  that,  "  The 
high  fee  paid  for  the  teaching  of  Irish  was  one  of  the 
most  scandalous  things  in  the  new  programme.  The 
National  Board  paid  ten  shillings  for  teaching  Irish 
and  five  shillings  for  Latin  and  French.  That  was 
their  conception  of  the  relative  value  of  these  subjects, 
and  he  asked  was  it  the  view  of  any  average  man  in 
this  island  ?  He  ventured  to  say  no.  Latin  was  more 
useful  to  a  boy  in  the  race  of  life  than  Irish,  and  French 
was  also  infinitely^more  valuable.  Why  should  Irish  be 
encouraged  ?  It  was  not  a  spoken  language,  and  the 
less  the  youth  of  the  country  knew  about  Irish  litera- 
ture the  better.  The  teaching  of  Irish  handicapped  a 
child  by  taking  up  his  time  in  teaching  him  a  subject 
that  would  be  of  no  use  to  him  afterwards ;  and  for  the 
life  of  him  he  could  not  understand  why  the  Com- 
missioners placed  such  extraordinary  value  on  the  Irish 
language."  ^ 

Dr.  Greer  cannot  see,  but  I  can.  Irish  will  not  im- 
prove or  expand  the  mind ;  French  or  Latin  would  do 
so.  Therefore  it  is  the  priests'  pohcy  to  set  a  premium 
on  the  teaching  of  Irish.  And  it  is  the  priests'  view 
which  must  be  adopted. 

The  intolerance  of  our  bishops,   and  the  grasping 

^  Freeman,  May  27,  1902. 


A  GRASPING  HIGH   PRIEST  555 

nature  of  their  demands  upon  the  Treasury,  are  well 
exemplified  by  a  speech  of  Cardinal  Logue's  to  the 
Belfast  Catholics  in  May  1902.  He  had  just  dedicated 
the  new  "  church  of  the  Holy  Cross,"  and  we  are  in- 
formed that  "the  collection  amounted  to  ;^2  300." 
Talking  of  training  colleges  for  national  teachers 
under  clerical  management,  he  said  "  they  had  three 
training  colleges  in  Dublin,  one  appropriated  to  the 
Catholics,  another  to  the  Episcopalian  Protestants,  and 
another  appropriated  to  the  whole  world  (laughter)."  ^ 
There  was  loud  laughter,  led  off  by  the  cardinal,  at 
the  funny  idea  of  any  educational  institution  in  Ireland 
being  open  to  all  citizens.  "  These  three  establish- 
ments," continued  Cardinal  Logue,  "  were  carefully 
nursed  by  the  Government.  They  had  a  building 
fund  given  to  the  Catholic  and  Protestant  colleges 
and  to  the  General  Training  College,  lohich  was  the 
only  representative  left  of  secidar  education  in  the 
country."  He  should  have  added  that  there  is  a  fourth 
training  college,  under  the  management  of  the  Sisters 
of  Mercy  in  Dublin,  for  female  Catholic  teachers,  for 
which  a  large  Government  building  grant  was  recently 
given  by  the  Treasury.  Having  thus  admitted  the 
liberality  of  the  Government  to  the  priest-managed 
training  colleges — one  of  those  magnificent  buildings  of 
which  I  give  an  illustration — he  proceeded  to  denounce 
the  Government  for  spending  money  upon  the  General 
Training  College :  "  He  heard  a  rumour,  which  he  be- 
lieved was  a  fact,  that  as  much  as  ;^  18,000  was  offered 
to  a  gentleman  the  other  day  for  a  building  site  to 
erect  residences  for  the  teachers  who  are  trained  iii  a 
common  institution — common  to  all  the  world.  That 
was  another  instance  of  how  things  were  done  as  they 
ought  not  to  be  done."     He  thinks  it  an  epithet  of 

1  Freeman's  Jmiriial. 


556  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

disgrace  to  call  the  training  college  '  an  institution 
common  to  all  the  world,"  so  perverted  is  his  view  of 
things.  On  the  contrary,  when  we  call  an  institution 
or  a  prize  an  open  one,  we  accord  it  the  highest  term 
of  praise  which  can  be  given  to  it.  Trinity  College  and 
all  its  prizes  and  fellowships,  for  instance,  are  open  to 
all  the  world. 

The  fact  is  that  the  Marlborough  Street  General 
Training  College,  in  1900,  trained  156  teachers,  as 
against  103  trained  in  St.  Patrick's,  92  in  Our  Lady 
of  Mercy,  and  60  in  the  Church  of  Ireland  Colleges. 
The  college  sadly  needs  extension  and  improvement; 
but  if  the  Government  dares  to  expend  money  on  it 
now,  in  opjDosition  to  the  opinion  of  our  narrow-minded 
High  Priest,  they  will  run  the  risk  of  losing  his  support, 
unless  they  condone  the  offence  to  him  by  a  grant  of 
university  money  or  in  some  other  way. 

All  the  Roman  Catholic  secondary  schools  of  Ireland 
are  now  the  property  of  either  priests  or  nuns.  In  one 
year  the  amount  of  result  fees  paid  to  managers  of 
schools  under  the  Intermediate  Education  Acts  in 
Ireland  amounts  to  ;^5 3,093,  is.  id.  The  following 
table,  which  I  have  put  together  from  a  study  of  the 
official  reports,^  shows  how  that  large  sum  of  money 
is  distributed,  and  the  proportion  of  it  which  is  taken 
by  priests  (including  Christian  Brothers)  and  nuns : — 

Priests.  Xuns.  All  others. 

Leinster  .        .;^I2,330     5  i  ;^3>"7  '9  6  £(>,02^    9    9 

Ulster      .        .       2,956     3  6  1,048     7  i  10,292     5     i 

Munster  .         .     10,778  16  6  1,508    4  o  2,329     $     6 

Connaught      .       1,573  14  i  256     4  6  874     6    6 

Total        ;^27,638     19    2         .^5,93°  »S     '       £>^^,Sn    6  10 

All  the  Roman  Catholic  reformatories  and  industrial 
schools  are  in  the  hands  of  priests  and  nuns.     In  a 

^  Intermediate  Education  Reports,  1900. 


MORE  POWER  FOR  THE  PRIEST       557 

single  year  the  amount  of  money  expended  in  Ireland 
under  the  Reformatories  and  Industrial  Schools  Acts 
comes  to  ;^ 1 7  2,3 8 1 , 1 8s.  4d.,  less  about  £ 1 0,000  received 
for  the  products  of  the  schools.  The  following  table, 
compiled  by  me  from  the  official  reports,^  will  show 
how  much  of  that  sum  goes  to  priests  (including 
Christian  Brothers)  and  nuns : — 

Priests.  Nuns.  All  others. 

Reformatories  .  ;^io,  113  11  9  .^^1,736  10  7  .1^1,811  13  o 
Industrial  schools      44,751   15    o  80,129     5     4  14,142  19     3 

Total     .        .   ;^54,86s    6    9       ;^8i,865  15  11       £iS,9SA  »2    3 

The  Agricultural  and  Technical  Instruction  Act,  1 899, 
placed  another  large  sum  of  money  and  important 
patronage  in  the  hands  of  the  priests.  Protestant 
communities,  like  Belfast,  will  reap  the  full  advantage 
of  the  Act,  although  the  Protestants  of  the  North 
had  nothing  to  do  with  its  enactment ;  but  Catholic 
Ireland's  share  of  the  ;i^200,ooo  per  annum  will  be 
entirely  in  the  priests'  hands.  The  bishops  and  priests 
are  chairmen,  and  preponderate  on  all  the  technical 
instruction  committees ;  it  is  convent  and  monastic 
schools  which  will  reap  the  emoluments ;  it  is  priests' 
prot^gds  who  are  being,  and  will  continue  to  be,  ap- 
pointed to  fill  the  positions. 

I  do  not  wish  to  say  anything  harsh  of  Mr.  Horace 
Plunkett  and  his  female  friends  who,  in  conjunction 
with  Father  Finlay,  S.J.,  and  Mr.  T.  P.  Gill,  ex-M.P., 
worked  up  the  friendly  agitation  for  the  Act  of 
Parliament  during  the  internecine  political  strife  which 
prevailed  for  the  nine  years  following  Mr,  Parnell's 
death.  But,  even  at  the  risk  of  being  called  "  a 
Thersites  looking  for  a  job,"  as  Mr,  Plunkett  is  wont 
to  speak  of  his  critics,  I  shall  venture  to  say  that 
Mr.   Plunkett's  "  department "  might  be  described  as 

'  Reformatory  and  Industrial  Schools  Accounts,  1900. 


558  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

a  farce,  if  it  were  not  doing  a  great  deal  of  serious 
harm.  Nor  is  tlie  loss  of  the  money  to  the  country 
the  most  damaging  consequence  flowing  from  it.  It 
is  a  new  force  making  for  ignorance  and  retrogression 
and  sacerdotal  paramountcy  all  over  Catholic  Ireland. 
By  its  provisions,  for  instance,  the  Royal  College  of 
Science — one  of  the  only  educational  institutions  in 
Ireland  hitherto  free  from  priestly  jobbery — has  come 
under  sacerdotal  influence. 

The  National  Library,  by  the  same  Act,  has  been 
brought  under  priests'  direction.  A  priest,  whose  fine 
Roman  hand  I  plainly  recognise,  writing  about  this 
public  institution  in  the  public  press  this  year,  thus 
besmirches  it  with  his  adulation :  ^ — 

"  The  valuable  new  addition  to  the  library  of  Cardinal 
De  Lugo's  works  affords  me  the  opportunity  to  call 
your  clerical  readers'  attention  to  a  fact  that  I  fear 
is  little  known  to  the  clergy  of  Dublin,  that  some  of 
the  most  important  patristic,  theological,  and  ascetical 
works  are  now  available  to  the  reader  in  this  public 
library.  Amongst  them  may  be  noted: — The  works 
of  St.  Augustine,  St.  Jerome,  St.  Chrysostom,  St. 
Gregory  the  Great,  St.  Basil,  St.  Cyril  of  Alexandria, 
St.  Gregory  of  Nyssa,  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  Clement 
of  Alexandria,  and  of  Origen,  &c. ;  Card.  De  Lugo, 
omnia  opera,  1 868  (scarce  in  Dublin) ;  Bellarmine,  omnia 
opera ;  Benedict  XIV.,  omnia  opera ;  Baronius  Annales 
Ecclesiastici  (38  vols.);  Patavius  (8  vols.,  1865-67); 
Cornelius  (a  Lapide),  Commentary  on  the  whole  Bible ; 
St.  Bernard's  works  in  Latin  and  French ;  Maldonatus, 
Com.  in  IV.  Evangelistas ;  Estius,  Com,  on  the  New 
Testament;  Fleury,  Histoire  Ecclesiastique;  St.  Liguori's 
Moral  Theology;  the  complete  works  of  St.  Louis  of 
Granada,  of  St.  John  of  the  Cross,  and  of  St.  Francis 
de  Sales;   St.  Catharine  of  Sienna;   Fourard's  Life  of 

'  Evening  Herald,  May  22,  1902. 


LUNACY,  A  NEW   FIELD  559 

Christ  (one  of  the  best  written),  &c.  &c.  This  library 
is  well  answering  to  its  name,  and  becoming  truly 
National,     Prospere,  procede ! — Sacerdos." 

Though  this  library  complains  that  its  annual  grant 
of  ;6^iooo  for  books  is  insufficient,  I  notice  from  its 
catalogue  that  a  sacerdotal  publication  not  included  in 
the  above  list,  dealing  with  the  Jesuits,  was  acquired  in 
1 90 1,  which  must  have  cost  at  least  £$0. 

The  county  lunatic  asylums  are  now  for  the  most 
part  under  priestly  management,  and  I  expect  further 
developments  of  priestly  self-assertion  in  connection 
with  them  during  the  next  five  or  ten  years,  if  the 
spirit  of  the  times  does  not  change.  The  expenditure 
in  the  22  district  lunatic  asylums  in  1900  was  ^5  57,1 1  5; 
and  all  of  these,  except  4,  are  amenable  to  sacerdotal 
influence,  and  in  many  cases  presided  over  by  Catholic 
bishops.  The  number  of  registered  insane  in  Ireland 
is  constantly  increasing,  while  the  population  is  de- 
creasing : — 

Yea  Registered  Insane. 

1895 18,357 


1896 
1897 
1898 
1899 
1900 


18,966 
19,590 
20,304 
20,863 
2 1 , 1 69 


As  the  maintenance  of  lunatics  costs  the  State 
jC^i,  I2S.  2d.  per  head  per  annum,  there  is  evidently 
room  for  the  monk  or  the  nun  on  the  strength  of  the 
asylum  staffs,  and  for  convents  in  the  grounds. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  overrate  the  power  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  priests'  organisation  in  Ireland  at  pre- 
sent. They  hold  in  the  hollow  of  their  hands  the  minds 
of  all  the  children  attending  (a)  the  national  schools,  by 
virtue  of  their  position  as  managers  of  the  schools ;  (b) 
the  convent  and  monastic  schools ;  (c)  all  the  Catholic 


56o  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

intermediate  schools.  The  priests  openly  regard  "  free 
thought,"  or  "  free  mental  development,"  as  physicians 
look  upon  cholera  or  smallpox,  that  is,  as  diseases  to 
be  extirpated.  They  therefore  deliberately  cripple  and 
stunt  the  minds  of  the  youth  to  make  freedom  of 
thinking  power  impossible. 

But  the  very  small  proportion  of  middle-class  youth, 
not  destined  for  the  priesthood,  who  desire  a  university 
education,  may  still,  under  the  present  law,  obtain  their 
degrees  in  Arts,  Medicine,  Law,  and  Engineering  inde- 
pendent of  the  priests ;  and  to  obtain  those  degrees 
a  certain  minimum  standard  of  genuine  knowledge  is 
necessary. 

That  constitutes  the  priest's  grievance.  He  forbids, 
broadly  speaking,  the  Catholic  youth  to  attend  the 
universities,  and  he  demands  a  university  under  his 
own  control,  to  be  conducted  on  the  principle  of  the 
"  crozier  indulgence,"  explained  in  Chapter  XL,  where 
degrees  certifying  that  the  holder  possesses  specific 
educational  attainments  may  be  obtained  by  people 
who  do  not  possess  those  qualifications  at  all. 

That  is  the  one  link  wanting  to  complete  the  chain 
of  mental  bondage  in  which  the  priest  holds  Catholic 
Ireland,  and  under  which  the  country  is  languishing, 
its  inhabitants  decreasing  in  numbers  and  degenerat- 
ing physically  and  morally  with  alarming  rapidity. 

The  low  intellectual  calibre  of  the  priests  is  in  the 
inverse  ratio  to  the  intensity  of  their  cunning  and  the 
plodding  astuteness  which  this  bachelor  brigade  can 
persistently  bring  to  bear  upon  the  achievement  of  an 
object  tending  to  their  own  aggrandisement. 

Let  us  briefly  examine  their  course  of  procedure. 

In  five  of  the  Ulster  counties — Armagh,  Tyrone, 
Donegal,  Cavan,  and  Fermanagh — Royal  Schools  were 
founded  in  the  reigns  of  James  I.  and  Charles  I.,  possess- 


THE  ROYAL  SCHOOLS  561 

ing  endowments  which  amounted  to  ^^8098  in  1900,01- 
about  £  1 600  per  school.  Those  schools  were  giving  a 
useful  education,  having  important  scholarships  in  con- 
nection with  Trinity  College,  and  turning  out  good 
citizens  from  their  portals  up  to  the  year  1885.  In 
that  year,  at  the  instance  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Bishops,  the  Government  appointed  a  Commission  to 
inquire  into  the  Royal  Schools,  and  in  1891 — during 
Lord  Salisbury's  second  Government — "  a  scheme  was 
settled "  transferring  half  the  ancient  endowment  to 
''  Catholic  Boards  of  Education  "  in  the  five  counties. 
Each  of  these  "  Catholic  Boards "  consists  of  five 
priests  and  four  laymen — a  creditable  effort  on  the 
part  of  the  Government  to  assert  the  right  of  the 
Catholic  laity  to  representation  in  such  matters.  But, 
let  the  Government  take  note,  from  the  result  of  that 
experiment,  how  futile  was  the  hope  that  the  laity  of 
the  districts  concerned  would  thereby  acquire  a  voice 
in  educational  afiairs. 

I  have  dealt  with  the  Fermanagh  endowment  in  the 
third  chapter;  and  it  will  be  remembered  that  the 
school  to  which  the  Catholic  half  of  the  Fermanaeh 
endowment  now  goes  is  the  ecclesiastical  seminary  at 
Monaghan.  What  control  have  the  laymen  on  the 
"  Fermanagh  Catholic  Board "  over  the  system  of 
education  in  force  in  that  school  ?  Is  it  not  their 
share  in  the  business  to  "  hand  the  money  over "  to 
the  bishop,  as  head  of  the  seminary,  just  as  the 
VVestport  District  Council  were  instructed  to  "  hand 
over  "  the  technical  education  money  to  the  reverend 
mother  ?  The  remaining  four  "  Catholic  Boards  "  are  in 
the  same  position,  the  money  being  '  handed  over  "  to 
four  ecclesiastical  seminaries — St.  Patrick's  at  Armagh, 
St.  Patrick's  at  Dungannon,  St.  Patrick's  at  Cavan,  and 
St.   Eunan's  at  Letterkenny,  all  under  the  control  of 

2  N 


562  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

the  bishops  of  the  dioceses.  The  five  original  Royal 
Schools  have  had  their  usefulness  sadly  impaired,  while 
the  five  Catholic  ecclesiastical  seminaries  which  have 
benefited  by  the  confiscation — a  harsh  term,  but  it  is 
the  correct  word — are  of  no  countervailing  advantage  to 
the  country.  The  education  given  in  them  is  priests' 
education,  as  stagnant  and  isolated  as  the  education  at 
Maynooth.  It  is  not  the  sort  of  education  which  the 
Royal  Schools  gave  prior  to  1885,  acting  in  concert  with 
Trinity  College.  The  result  of  the  scheme  of  "  equality 
of  endowment,"  in  this  instance,  has  been  followed,  not 
by  equality,  but  by  deterioration  of  education.  Even  if 
the  Government,  in  1891,  had  not  confiscated  half  the 
endowment  of  the  Royal  Schools,  but  had  created  a 
fresh  endowment  of  equal  value,  and  vested  it  in  pre- 
cisely similar  "  Catholic  Boards "  to  those  which  now 
exist,  the  result  flowing  from  the  i^Sooo  would  have 
been  the  same  for  Catholic  lay  education  as  the  produce 
at  present  yielded  by  the  .^6^4 000. 

Formation  of  character  is,  both  for  the  State  and  for 
the  individual,  the  most  important  result  of  education ; 
and  fortunately  the  public  possesses  for  its  guidance  the 
most  authoritative  episcopal  pronouncement  possible  as 
to  what  priests'  education  tends  to  in  that  respect. 

I  was  the  first  to  publicly  point  out  the  far-reaching 
importance  of  the  admission  made  by  Bishop  O'Dwyer 
in  his  evidence  before  the  Royal  Commission  as  to  the 
results  of  priests'  education  on  the  formation  of  char- 
acter. I  did  so  on  the  26th  of  November  1901,  in  a 
public  lecture  on  education  delivered  in  Belfast. 

Bishop  O'Dwyer  had  been  solemnly  and  formally 
put  forward  as  the  spokesman  of  the  Catholic  bishops, 
and  the  taking  of  his  evidence  occupied  the  Com- 
mission for  three  days.^ 

'  First  Report  of  Commission  on  University  Education,  1901. 


A  JUDGMENT  ON  THE   PRIESTS        563 

His  admissions  to  which  I  directed  public  attention 
were  five  in  number : — 

I.  (Question  324):  "  Almost  all  secular  education  in 
Ireland  is  in  the  hands  of  the  clergy." 

II.  (Question  324):  "The  clergy  that  teach  have 
never  received  a  true  education.  There  are  no  laymen 
competent  to  teach  at  all." 

III.  (p.  21):  "  They  (the  priests)  come  out  of  May- 
nooth  .  .  .  absolutely  deficient  in  all  classical  education 
and  in  all  scientific  and  mathematical  education." 

IV.  {ibidem)  :  "  They  are  deficient  in  that  indefinable 
thing  that  is  not  knowledge  but  culture,  something  you 
cannot  put  your  hand  on,  a  something  which  cultivates 
a  sense  of  honour  and  a  right  judgment  with  regard  to 
the  affairs  of  life." 

V.  Speaking  of  the  Catholic  young  men  of  Ireland, 
emerging  from  the  priests'  intermediate  schools  (p.  24), 
he  said :  "  I  will  simply  say  this  in  general,  that  nine- 
tenths  of  them  are  lost,  and  that  they  are  now  going 
to  swell  the  ranks  of  the  cUdassh,  without  an  education 
that  is  worth  a  button  to  them  for  any  useful  purpose." 

Every  one  acquainted  with  Irish  priests  and  priest- 
educated  laymen  knew  that  all  these  things  were  true 
without  being  informed  of  them  by  Bishop  O'Dwyer. 
The  condition  of  Catholic  Ireland  proclaims  their  truth. 
But  such  an  admission  deliberately  made  by  their  own 
spokesman  on  a  most  formal  occasion,  and  with  a 
full  sense  of  responsibility,  will  deservedly  carry  great 
weight  with  the  vast  public  which  has  no  personal 
knowledge  of  the  Irish  priests. 

I  sincerely  hope  that  in  the  case  of  Bishop  O'Dwyer, 
as  the  champion  of  a  State-subsidised  priests'  university, 
we  may  yet  bo  in  a  position  to  say,  Queni  Deus  vult  perdere 
prius  dementat.  May  the  evil  cause  which  he  advo- 
cates, involving  a  perpetuation  and  intensification   of 


564  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

the  present  state  of  things,  be  destroyed  utterly.  May 
his  madness,  resulting  from  the  intoxication  of  un- 
accustomed power,  be  the  means  of  restoring  sanity 
to  our  Government  in  the  first  place,  and  to  our  Irish 
Catholic  people  later  on,  when  Divine  Providence,  in  its 
own  good  time,  deems  them  worthy  of  enlightenment. 

The  pecuniary  success  of  the  movement  which  they 
carried  through  in  connection  with  the  Royal  Schools, 
resulting  in  a  yearly  endowment  of  over  ;^4000  for  five 
of  their  diocesan  seminaries,  emboldened  the  priests 
to  press  the  friendly  Conservative  Government  for 
"  equality  of  endowment "  in  university  education. 

Trinity  College,  like  the  Royal  Schools,  is  endowed 
with  private  property  conferred  upon  it  at  various 
periods  since  the  reign  of  Elizabeth ;  and  that  pro- 
perty is  as  truly  vested  in  the  College  Board  as,  say, 
the  Irish  estates  of  the  Duke  of  Devonshire  or  the 
Duke  of  Abercorn  are  vested  in  those  noblemen.  The 
College  title  is  as  good  and  the  succession  has  been 
as  unbroken.  The  College  holds  its  estates,  I  take  it, 
as  a  public  trust,  and  the  duty  of  giving  university 
education  is  thereby  imposed  upon  the  College  Board. 
Nobody  can,  nobody  does,  allege  that  they  have  failed 
to  fulfil  that  trust.  Trinity  College  is  to-day  a  living 
monument  to  the  good  faith  which  its  managers  have 
kept  with  the  public.  It  is  the  greatest  centre  of 
intellectual  life,  culture,  and  civilisation  in  Ireland. 
Originally  founded  for  the  exclusive  education  of  Pro- 
testants, it  has  thrown  open  all  its  prizes  and  emolu- 
ments to  members  of  every  religious  denomination. 
It  welcomes  the  Roman  Catholic  as  cordially  as  the 
member  of  the  Church  of  Ireland.  The  Presbyterians, 
the  Methodists,  and  the  members  of  every  other  re- 
ligious denomination  all  gain  by  the  liberality  of  Trinity 
College.     I  can  testify  that  during  my  three  years  at 


TRINITY  COLLEGE  565 

Midleton  Endowed  School — a  Protestant  foundation — 
and  during  the  four  years  that  I  attended  the  lectures 
and  passed  the  examinations  of  Trinity  College,  I  never 
heard  an  unkind  or  uncharitable  expression  used  to- 
wards me  as  a  Roman  Catholic.  I  received  equal 
attention  with  my  Protestant  fellow-pupils  at  school ; 
I  received  equal  treatment  at  the  university,  and  I 
profited  exceedingly  by  the  association.  In  the  first 
week  after  my  entrance  I  was  awarded  the  Junior 
University  Exhibition  and  the  Midleton  School  Exhibi- 
tion, the  money  value  of  which  was  equal  to  the  entire 
amount  of  fees  payable  to  Trinity  College  up  to  the 
conferring  of  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  If  I  now 
happen  to  know  anything;  if  I  have  travelled  any 
distance,  however  short,  on  the  road  to  Truth ;  I  owe 
it,  in  common  with  the  entbe  civilised  world,  mainly 
to  association  with  Protestants,  and  to  the  principles 
of  Protestantism. 

The  priests,  in  their  intrigues  with  the  friendly 
Conservative  Government  since  1891,  have  taken  up 
the  position,  with  a  loudly-proclaimed  sense  of  their 
own  meritoriousness,  that  they  do  not  desire  to  follow 
the  precedent  set  in  the  Royal  Schools  "  scheme  "  by 
asking  for  a  confiscation  of  the  revenues  of  Trinity 
College.  I  am  rejoiced  that  even  Maynooth  ignorance 
and  selfishness  have  the  wit  loft  to  see  that  the  friends 
of  Trinity  College  would  not  permit  a  Conservative  or 
any  other  Ministry  to  perpetrate  that  iniquity.  I  dislike 
the  word  "  intrigue,"  and  I  only  use  it  because  no  other 
appellation  will  fitly  describe  the  proceedings  of  the  Con- 
servative Government  with  reference  to  this  question. 

From  1892  to  1895,  while  Mr.  Gladstone  and  Lord 
Rosebery  were  in  power,  maintained  by  the  Irish 
Nationalist  votes,  the  priests  were  dumb  about  their 
university    education    projects.     Were    then-   motives 


566  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

honourable,  were  their  object  the  genuine  improve- 
ment of  middle-class  Catholic  education,  were  they  the 
exponents  of  hond-fide  lay  Catholic  public  opinion  on 
the  question,  those  three  years  would  have  been  the 
crucial  moment  to  press  forward  the  Catholic  University 
question  to  an  immediate  settlement. 

But  the  guilty  priests  knew  that  it  was  Mr.  Gladstone 
who  said :  "  The  priests  are  absolute  over  the  people, 
the  bishops  over  both,  the  Pope  over  all."  ^  And  they 
feared  that  in  any  educational  settlement  proposed  at 
that  time,  the  Irish  members,  being  allies  of  the  Liberal 
Government,  might  have  claimed  a  substantial  voice. 

The  Irish  members  have  been  treated  as  a  negligible 
quantity  in  every  practical  negotiation  between  the 
priests  and  the  Unionist  Government  prior  to  1892 
and  since  1895.  The  Agricultural  and  Technical  In- 
struction Act,  for  instance — the  most  serious  misappli- 
cation of  public  money  that  I  can  recollect — was,  save 
for  some  begging,  canvassing  visits  paid  by  Mr.  Plunkett 
to  leading  Nationalist  members,  carried  over  the  heads 
of  the  Irish  representatives  in  1899,  almost  without 
discussion. 

The  priest  is  a  trump  card  in  the  hand  of  the 
Unionist  Government's  Irish  spokesmen  in  Parliament. 
For  instance,  on  July  2,  1902,  Mr.  T.  W.  Russell,  in 
friendly  co-operation  with  the  Irish  members,  elabo- 
rately inflated  an  attack  on  the  Government  in  reference 
to  the  proceedings  on  the  De  Freyne  estate.  Harrow- 
ing pictures  were  drawn  of  the  tyranny  of  the  landlord 
and  the  penury  of  the  tenants  during  the  debate.  But 
the  Chief  Secretary  pricked  the  immense  bubble  and 
ignominiously  routed  the  allied  forces  by  simply  stat- 
ing :  ^  "  My  advice  to  the  tenants  is  to  pay  up.  .  .  .  My 
advice  to  them,"  continued  the  Chief  Secretary,  "  is  to 

1  "Vaticanism,"  by  W.  E.  Gladstone.  ■^  Freeman,  July  3,  1902. 


SECOND-HAND   MORALITY  567 

ask  the  agitators  to  pay  the  costs  for  them.  ...  I  feel 
justified  in  giving  that  advice,  because  it  was  given  hy 
the  Catholic  clergy  of  the  district.  The  Catholic  Bishop 
of  Elphin,  the  Most  Rev.  Dr.  Clancy,  has  consistently 
adA'ised  the  tenants  that  they  were  taking  action  that 
was  morally  wrong."  I  also  advise  the  tenants  to  pay 
Lord  De  Freyne,  as  well  as  Monica  Duft'  &  Co.  and 
every  other  creditor,  to  the  last  penny ;  but,  in  doing 
so,  I  do  not  borrow  my  morality  at  second-hand. 

That  stick,  supplied  by  Bishop  Clancy,  was  good 
enough  for  Mr.  Wyndham  to  beat  the  Irish  dog  with, 
and,  after  its  application,  nothing  ensued  but  grinning 
and  howling.  I  do  not  regard  Mr.  Wyndham,  nor,  on 
public  form,  do  I  believe  the  country  looks  upon  him 
as  an  example  of  a  public  man  to  be  admired  or 
followed.  I  expressed  a  surmise  in  an  earlier  chapter 
that  he  appeared  to  time  his  acts  to  the  utterances  of 
Bishop  Clancy.  I  am  proved  to  have  been  right !  But, 
in  sheltering  himself  under  the  wing  of  the  priests  here 
in  Ireland,  it  must  be  admitted,  in  extenuation  of  his 
behaviour,  that  the  two  Messrs.  Balfour  set  him  a 
reprehensible  precedent,  which  he  is,  as  befits  an 
understudy,  studiously  following. 

In  the  present  condition  of  Catholic  Ireland  it  is, 
in  my  opinion,  a  dereliction  of  principle  and  a  betrayal 
of  national  interests  for  Irish  representatives  to  accept 
money  from  an  organisation  of  selfish  priests,  who  are 
engaged  in  deforming  and  outraging  the  minds  of  our 
youth,  and  thereby  creating  all  the  unprosperity  and 
discontent  which  necessitate  the  existence  of  a  Mr. 
Wyndham. 

The  act  of  the  Nenagh  peasant  who  "  stabbed  to 
death  a  valuable  brood  mare"  on  July  10,  1902,  is 
described  by  the  Freeman  as  "  a  dastardly  outrage." 
What  of  the  organisation  which,  in   pursuance  of  a 


568  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

settled  policy,  maims  the  mental  faculties  of  the  youth 
of  a  credulous  people  entrusted  to  their  guidance  ?  Is 
it  not  one  of  infinitely  greater  criminality  ? 

For,  if  it  be  necessary  and  right  that  the  free  develop- 
ment of  the  limbs  and  muscles  of  the  body  be  encour- 
aged in  the  child,  it  is  immeasurably  more  important 
that  the  mind  should  be  free  and  its  full  development 
fostered.  If  it  be  a  crime  to  deliberately  maim  the 
limbs  of  a  child  entrusted  to  one's  care,  and  thereby 
destroy  its  •  freedom  of  limb,  it  is  an  infinitely  greater 
crime  to  stunt  and  do  outrage  to  the  child's  mind,  and 
thereby  deprive  it  of  freedom  of  thought.  Therefore,  as 
between  the  perpetrator  of  physical  outrage,  whom  all 
civilised  people  denounce,  and  the  sacerdotal  organisa- 
tion which  perpetrates  the  mental  outrage  of  depriving 
our  children  of  the  free  use  of  their  minds,  what  dis- 
tinction is  there  beyond  a  difference  in  degree  of  guilt  ? 

I  am  forced  to  the  conclusion,  when  I  consider  the 
evils  flowing  from  sacerdotal  supremacy,  that  the  Irish 
members  in  taking  money  from  the  priests — and,  with- 
out the  priests'  subscriptions,  the  Irish  Party  could  not 
exist  —  place  themselves  in  the  most  unpatriotic 
position  ever  occupied  by  a  body  of  parliamentary  re- 
presentatives. The  corruption  of  the  members  who 
sold  their  votes  before  the  Union  was,  all  things  con- 
sidered, not  so  bad.  And  what  is  being  done  now  in 
Ireland  Avill  have  to  be  undone  yet,  with  the  accom- 
paniment of  tears  and  bloodshed. 

The  Irish  Parliamentary  Party  is  now  also  an  asset 
to  be  counted  in  the  power-summary  of  the  priest.  If 
the  status  of  the  M.P.  has  waned  in  England — and  the 
public  journals  allege  that  it  has — his  importance  has 
shrunk  tenfold  in  Ireland.  The  constituencies  which 
return  Nationalist  members  scarcely  know  the  names 
of  their  representatives.     The  Tories  used  to  taunt  the 


IRISH   PARLIAMENTARY   PARTY         569 

Irish  M.P.,  tifteen  years  ago,  with  living  on  the  servant 
girls  of  New  York  and  the  peasants  of  Ireland.  The 
Irish  M.P.'s  position  was  honourable  from  1 880  to  1 890 
compared  with  his  present  plight.  To-day  the  Irish 
and  Irish- American  priests  draw  the  money  from  both 
those  taps,  and  they  give  the  members  just  sufficient 
to  keep  things  going. 

I  am  ashamed  of  the  Irish  members,  but  I  cannot 
forget  that  they  only  are  what  the  priests  have  made 
them.  They  are  a  fair  sample  of  what  the  bulk  of  the 
priest-educated  Catholics  of  Ireland  have  become. 

Give  me  the  disfranchisement  which  Catholics  had 
under  Grattan's  Parliament,  rather  than  representation 
by  such  men.  It  is  a  loss  to  the  country  to  be  over- 
represented  under  such  circumstances  ;  and  Mr.  Morley's 
"spectre"  of  86  votes  may  be  laid,  like  any  other  evil 
spirit,  with  resultant  gain  to  Catholic  Ireland. 

But  when  I  contrast  the  drawbacks  of  the  poor  Irish 
members,  even  the  best  of  them,  with  the  opportunities 
of  such  a  man  as  Mr.  Wyndham,  I  am  forced  to  consider 
Mr.  Wyndham 's  conduct  incapable  of  palliation.  If  he 
gets  ;if  4000  where  the  poor  Irish  member  only  gets  ;^40, 
both  beiuCT  under  the  wintr  of  Roman  Catholic  sacer- 
dotalism,  then,  since  the  sordidness  and  lowness  of 
tone  prevalent  in  public  life  to-day  measures  everything 
by  the  standard  of  money,  Mr.  Wyndham's  humiliation 
is  a  hundredfold  greater  than  Mr.  Redmond's. 

On  the  24th  of  June  1902,  the  morning  of  the  day 
on  which  the  world  was  startled  by  the  announcement 
of  the  King's  illness,  the  Freeman  published  the 
following  essay  in  morality  from  "  the  Most  Reverend 
Dr.  Clancy,"  addressed  to  his  priests : — 

"  A  portion  of  the  ceremony  which  will  be  performed 
in  Westminster  Abbey  will  consist  of  a  repetition  of  the 
oath  by  which  last  year  the  King  solemnly  professed 


570  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

his  disbelief  in  the  doctrine  of  Transubstantiation,  and 
proclaimed  that  the  honour  paid  by  Catholics  to  the 
Blessed  Virgin  is  idolatrous  worship.  Such  an  oath, 
being  a  direct  contradiction  to  Revelation  and  to  the 
teaching  of  the  Catholic  Church,  Tnust  involve,  in  no 
matter  what  light  it  may  be  viewed,  an  insult  to  the 
God  of  truth;  and,  remembering  how  the  people  of 
Israel  were  punished  on  account  of  the  sin  of  David, 
though  that  sin  was  not  committed  by  the  Jewish  king 
in  his  official  capacity,  Ave  have  grave  reason  to  fear  that 
the  people  of  these  kingdoms  may  be  punished  by 
Almighty  God  as  participators  in  the  official  blasphemy 
of  the  head  of  the  English  realm  if  they  do  not  dissociate 
themselves  from  it.  With  a  view,  therefore,  of  protest- 
ing against  the  offensiveness  of  the  Roj^al  oath,  and  to 
protect  ourselves  from  the  punishment  that  it  may 
entail,  we  hereby  direct  that  a  religious  service  of  re- 
paration be  held  in  all  the  churches  of  this  diocese  on 
the  evening  of  the  26th  June,  the  date  of  the  Coronation." 

Oh,  I  should  not  like  to  shelter  myself  under  the 
moral  plumage  of  the  composer  of  that  letter  ! 

"  Then  the  high  priest  rent  his  clothes  and  saith : 
What  need  we  any  further  witnesses  ?  Ye  have  heard 
the  blasphemy :  what  think  ye  ?  And  they  all  con- 
denmed  him  to  be  guilty  of  death." 

Low  indeed  must  the  God  of  Truth  be  fallen  if  such 
a  man — the  bishop  in  whose  diocese  the  Cunningham 
murder  was  perpetrated — be  His  accredited  champion.^ 

He  had  run  the  risk  of  offending  Nationalist  suscepti- 
bilities by  exhuming  the  Inquisition's  letter  for  applica- 
tion to  the  De  Freyne  estate,  and  had  thereby  won  the 
plaudits  of  a  Mr.  Wyndham. 

But  the  bishops  of  Ireland  are  prepared  to  do  far 
more  than  that  for  any  Catholic  nobleman  who  is  ready 
to  sign  a  declaration  calling  upon  the  Government  to 
forge  the  last  link  necessary  to  complete  the  chain  of 
bondage  in  which  the  priest  holds  Catholic  Ireland. 
1  "Five  Years  in  Ireland." 


GOVERNMENT'S  CONSCIENCE-KEEPER     571 

Such  being  the  case,  was  not  his  coronation  pro- 
nouncement well  calculated  to  rehabilitate  the  Govern- 
ment's conscience-keeper  in  the  esteem  of  the  Anti- 
Saxon  and  Catholic  "  paleface  captives  "  of  Connaught  ? 

The  priest-ridden  county  councils  of  the  province 
had  prej^ared  black  flags  for  hoisting  on  the  26th  of 
June — notably  at  Castlebar,  the  capital  of  Mayo,  where 
the  new  Catholic  church,  described  in  a  former  chapter, 
had  its  shrines  and  collection  boxes  twice  pillaged  ^  by 
its  pious  votaries  in  the  week  following  the  Coronation 
Day !     Such  is  the  morality  bred  by  sacerdotalism. 

Let  me  remind  Mr.  Wyndham  that  when  the  little 
good  which  he  is  trying  to  work  in  Ireland,  and  for 
which  I  give  hhn  credit,  is  buried  with  his  unremembered 
bones,  the  evil  that  he  is  doing  in  concert  with  such 
men  as  Bishop  Clancy  will  live  after  him. 

But  for  the  priests  of  Ireland  there  would  have  been 
no  land  question  and  no  land  agitation,  with  its  accom- 
paniments of  assassination  and  outrage.  Where  there 
was  no  priest,  namely,  in  the  North  of  Ireland,  there 
was  no  agitation  or  assassination.  A  spirit  of  sensible 
compromise  had  established  the  Ulster  custom  long 
before  the  invention  of  modern  Land  Acts. 

Does  the  present  Government  forget  that  the  British 
electorate  returned  it  to  power  in  1 8  8  6  to  refuse  Home 
Rule  ?  Does  it  forget  that  it  has  retained  office  ever 
since  on  the  continuing  strength  of  that  mandate,  except 
for  the  interval  of  Liberal  Government  from  1892  to 
1895  ?  Does  it  forget  that  it  holds  no  mandate  from 
the  country  to  grant  Rome  Rule  ?  On  the  contrary, 
was  it  not  because  the  vast  bulk  of  the  electorate  be- 
lieved that  Home  Rule  was  synonymous  with  Rome 
Rule  that  it  installed  a  Government  in  power  to  refuse 
Home  Rule  ? 

^  Freeman,  July  8,  1902. 


572  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

To  endow  the  priests  with  further  power  over  the 
minds  of  our  youth  will  be  to  rivet  more  firmly  the 
chains  of  Rome  Rule  on  our  discontented  and  diminish- 
ing population — and  the  most  repulsive  and  retrograde 
form  which  such  endowment  can  assume  will  be  the 
estabhshment  of  a  State-subsidised  university  dominated 
by  Maynooth  priests  of  the  calibre  described  by  Bishop 
O'Dwyer.  The  present  Government,  in  their  anxiety  to 
shield  themselves, when  theyfirst  contemplated  the  foun- 
dation of  a  Priests'  University,  searched  the  entire  civil- 
ised world  for  a  precedent,  and  failed  to  find  one.^  They 
now  know,  if  they  did  not  know  it  before,  that  the  trend 
of  things  all  over  the  world  is  quite  the  other  way ;  in 
Roman  Catholic  as  well  as  Protestant  countries.  In 
the  words  of  the  young  King  of  Italy,  one  of  whose 
subjects  I  should  consider  it  a  signal  honour  to  be.  the 
tendency  of  the  age  is  "  to  maintain  strictly  the  separation 
of  the  temporal  and  the  spiritual ;  to  honour  the  clergy, 
but  to  keep  it  within  the  limits  of  the  sanctuary."  The 
Roman  Catholic  priest  has  been  forcibly  put  outside  the 
school  door  in  every  land  that  desires  its  people  to  be 
happy  and  contented.  For  when  the  priest  is  in  the 
school,  as  he  is  in  Ireland,  education  and  mind-develop- 
ment are  not  the  objects  for  which  the  school  is  main- 
tained ;  but  the  inculcation  of  a  religion  which  means 
the  prevention  of  mind-growth,  and  the  glorification  of 
an  idle,  ignorant  priesthood. 

1  Parliamentary  Paper,  Miscellaneous,  No.  2  (1900),  containing 
"Reports  from  Her  Majesty's  Representatives  abroad,  on  the  Pro- 
vision made  in  Foreign  Countries  for  the  University  Education  of 
Roman  Catholics "  ;  and  a  Colonial  Office  Paper,  entitled  "  Papers 
Relating  to  the  University  Education  of  Roman  Catholics  in  certain 
Colonies,"  March  1900. 


CHAPTER   XXX 

WHO    ARE    THE    PRIESTS? 

The  last  question  which  I  shall  set  myself  to  answer  is 
that  which  I  have  written  at  the  head  of  this  chapter. 
I  had  hoped  to  include  in  this  work  a  practical  ex- 
amination of  the  religious  tenets  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  more  especially  of  the  doctrines  of  transub- 
stantiation,  of  images,  of  confession,  of  fasting,  and  of 
the  vow  of  chastity,  and  to  illustrate  by  countless  ex- 
amples how  they  work  out  in  practice,  and  the  influence 
they  exercise  on  the  Irish  character.  But  to  do  so 
would  require  a  volume  at  least  as  large  as  Priests 
AND  People  itself.  Nor  could  any  more  philanthropic 
consideration  occupy  the  attention  of  a  human  being. 
The  continued  decay  of  our  people,  and  the  grow^th  of 
the  priests'  organisation,  is,  perhaps,  the  most  perplex- 
ing problem  in  the  sociology  of  Europe]  to-day.  That 
problem  is  so  many-sided  that  I  have  had  to  divide  my 
investigation  of  it,  and  in  this  work,  though  I  have 
gone  deeper  into  the  question  than  I  did  in  Five 
Years  in  Ireland,  I  have  presented  to  the  reader  rather 
the  secular  than  the  spiritual  aspect  of  affairs  in  Roman 
Catholic  Ireland.  If  it  be  the  will  of  Providence  that 
I  should  do  so,  I  shall,  at  some  future  period,  complete 
my  work  on  the  subject  by  a  third  volume  dealing 
with  the  mental,  spiritual,  and  religious  aspects  of  the 
great  problem  which  is  as  fresh  to-day  as  it  was  in 
Palestine  on  that  memorable  morning,  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  sixty-nine  years  ago,  when  "  all  the 


574  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

chief  priests  and  elders  of  the  people  took  counsel 
agamst  Jesus  to  put  him  to  death." 

Pilate's  question,  What  is  truth  ?  still  requires  an 
answer  from  age  to  age. 

In  Ireland  the  days  have  already  come  "  in  the  which 
they  shall  say,  Blessed  are  the  barren,  and  the  wombs 
that  never  bare,  and  the  paps  which  never  gave  suck." 
Is  it  not  "  the  barren  "  who  possess  the  land  in  Catholic 
Ireland  to-day  ?  They  do  not  "  say  to  the  mountains, 
Fall  on  us  ;  and  to  the  hills,  Cover  us."  But  the  barren 
ones  hide  their  mauvaise  honte  in  mountains  of  stone 
of  their  own  erection.  I  do  not  put  any  faith  in  legal 
enactments  against  the  "  barren  "  fraternities,  such  as 
we  see  being  adopted  in  France  and  Spain  and  other 
Roman  Catholic  lands  to-day. 

So  far  back  as  the  year  a.d.  370  the  Christian 
Emperor  of  Rome,  Valentinian,  prohibited  by  public 
edict  "  all  ecclesiastics "  from  entering  the  houses  of 
widows  and  orphans,  and  made  it  illegal  for  an  ecclesi- 
astic to  receive  a  testamentary  gift  or  legacy  from  one 
to  whom  he  acted  as  spiritual  director.  It  was  at  that 
time  that  St.  Jerome  said :  "  There  are  monks  richer 
now  than  when  they  lived  in  the  world,  and  clerics 
who  possess  more  under  poor  Christ  than  they  did 
when  they  served  under  rich  Beelzebub." 

I  do  not  call  for  the  passing  of  such  enactments 
to-day,  though  Catholic  Ireland  stands  in  greater  need 
of  legal  protection  from  the  devouring  priest  than 
Rome  did  under  Bishop  Damasus  in  a.d.  370.  For  I 
know  that  any  such  laws  would  lead  but  to  an  increase 
of  perjury  and  a  multiplicity  of  equivocation.  What 
I  call  for  is  the  admission  of  the  light  of  truth  into  our 
people's  minds ;  what  I  ask  is  that  our  people  may  be 
permitted  to  open  their  ears  to  the  voice  of  truth. 

"  Every  one  that  is  of  the  truth  heareth  My  voice." 


THE  DIVINE  VOICE  575 

When  a  nation  hears  and  feels  that  voice  in  its  heart 
of  hearts,  it  is  saved  from  the  "  barren "  oppressors. 
England,  Scotland,  the  United  States,  Germany,  Hol- 
land, Scandinavia,  Switzerland,  and  other  Protestant 
lands,  all  have  heard  that  Divine  voice.  Had  France 
hearkened  to  it  when  England  did  so,  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  France  would  have  been  spared  the  horrors 
of  1789,  and  penal  enactments  against  religious  associa- 
tions would  be  as  needless  in  France  to-day  as  they 
are  in  England  or  the  United  States. 

How  well  and  truly  did  the  founders  of  the  American 
Commonwealth  hear  that  voice  ! 

And  to  that  greatest  of  lands,  that  product  of  a  pinch 
of  Puritanic  seed  wafted  across  the  Atlantic  in  the 
Mayjiower,  and  now  extending  from  ocean  to  ocean, 
until  it  embraces  every  clime  and  is  hospitable  to 
every  race,  how  literally  may  the  parable,  enunciated 
long  ago  in  His  voice,  be  applied  to-day  !  The  United 
States  of  America  "  is  like  to  a  grain  of  mustard  seed," 
which  God  took  and  sowed  in  His  field.  And  the  seed 
was  the  God-fearing,  truth -loving,  falsehood -hating 
spirit  of  the  Puritan  emigrants.  And  the  field  was  the 
land  of  the  Mississipi,  the  Father  of  Waters.  The 
seed  was  indeed  "  the  least  of  all  seeds."  But,  now, 
when  it  is  sfrown,  it  is  "  the  greatest  among  herbs." 
And  it  has  become  a  tree,  "so  that  the  birds  of  the 
air,"  all  the  peoples  of  the  earth,  "  come  and  lodge  in 
the  branches  thereof." 

Nothing  is  sadder  than  to  ponder  regretfully  over 
what  might  have  been  in  the  case  of  nations  no  less 
than  individuals.  And,  considering  the  latent  powers 
of  our  people,  what  a  noble  position  might  not  ours 
have  been  in  the  scale  of  nations !  Perchance,  what  a 
happy  lot  may  not  still  be  ours  when  the  voice  of  truth 
at  length  penetrates  into  the  essence  of  our  beings ! 


576  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

Who  are  the  priests  of  Ireland  that  hold  such  power 
in  our  midst  and  do  such  harm  ?  The  proud  and 
powerful  Wolsey  was  a  humble  butcher's  son,  and  with 
him  came  to  an  end  the  long  reign  of  the  priest  in 
England.  The  Irish  priests  are  men  drawn  from  the 
same  rank  of  life  as  Cardinal  Wolsey ;  and  the  rise  of 
Wolsey  proves  that  there  is  nothing  novel,  nothing 
inexplicable,  in  the  stupendous  elevation  of  our  Irish 
priests.  Would  that  we  could  hope  that  the  end  of  their 
domination  is  as  nigh  in  Ireland  to-day  as  it  was  in 
England  when  Wolsey  died. 

If  St.  Jerome  were  now  living  in  Ireland,  he  could 
truly  say  that  our  monks  are  "  richer  than  when  they 
lived  in  the  world."  When  they  profess  to  take  service 
under  "  poor  Christ,"  almost  all  our  priests  step  from 
poverty  to  riches ;  for  our  better-class  parents  cannot, 
and  do  not,  induce  their  sons  to  enter  holy  orders. 

Their  army  is  sadly  in  want  of  recruits  when  such  an 
advertisement  as  the  following  appears  in  the  Roman 
Catholic  newspapers  of  Ireland : — "  Collect  Cancelled 
Postage  Stamps,  British  and  Foreign,  to  help  to  edu- 
cate poor  children  for  the  Priesthood.  Religious  Sou- 
venirs will  be  given  in  return.  Please  send  the  Stamps 
or  write  for  information  to  the  '  Bethlehem '  Office, 
Clapham  Common,  Nth.  Side,  London,  S.W."  ^ 

Such  a  position  is  hopeful.  We  all  know  that  well- 
bred  boys  have  long  since  ceased  to  become  priests. 
But,  creditable  though  such  a  state  of  things  be  to 
the  better  classes  of  Roman  Catholics,  it  has  its  draw- 
backs ;  for  if  our  sacerdotal  tyrants  are  men  of  low 
origin,  then  they  are  all  the  more  likely  to  be,  I  do  not 
say  necessarily,  destitute  of  those  finer  feelings  which 
do  honour  to  human  nature. 

If  the  Catholic  body  politic  in  Ireland  be  divided 

^  Irish  Catholic,  July  27,  1901. 


THE  "ANTIQUE"  TENTH  577 

into  ten  parts  we  shall  find  that  perhaps  one-tenth  is 
in  possession  of  either  Avealth  or  liberal  competence, 
and  is  endowed  with  a  certain  amount  of  intellectual 
strength,  which,  apparently  and  superficially,  puts 
them  on  a  level  with  Protestants.  In  trivial  attain- 
ments, such  as  literary  taste  and  the  species  of  "  cul- 
ture" which  Avaxes  eloquent  over  Anne  Hathaway 
but  is  incapable  of  assimilating  a  single  Shakespearian 
sentiment,  the  Catholic  one-tenth  to  which  I  allude, 
perhaps,  surpass  the  Protestants.  The  bulk  of  this 
Catholic  one-tenth  are  what  would  be  styled  Noncon- 
formist if  they  belonged  to  the  Church  of  England — 
and  in  the  Church  of  England,  people  like  them  would 
openly  become  Nonconformists.  It  is  doubtful  if  any 
of  them  really  and  fully  believe  in  what  the  priests 
call  "  The  Faith."  They  never  leave  the  True  Church  : 
they  are  too  indifferent ;  they  hold  themselves  quite 
apart  from  the  remaining  nine-tenths  of  the  Catholic 
laity ;  they  toddle  to  mass  somnambulistically  on 
Sunday ;  they  leave  all  the  rest  to  the  sacerdotal 
experts ;  they  think  it  is  fashionable  to  be  Roman 
Catholic,  and  regard  themselves  as  "  antiques "  in 
human  nature— genuine,  spurious,  or  modern  "an- 
tiques"— to  use  the  language  of  the  dealer. 

Underneath  this  "antique"  tenth  there  are  two-tenths, 
perhaps,  who  indignantly  fume  against  the  pretensions  of 
the  priests.but  who  conform  nevertheless  to  a  great  many, 
but  by  no  means  to  all,  of  the  demands  of  'The  Faith." 

The  remaining  seven-tenths  of  the  laity  are  what 
General  Booth  would  describe  as  "  submerged,"  and  it 
is  from  the  submerged  seven-tenths  that  the  priests 
are  now  drawn.  As  long  as  the  priest  has  power,  those 
seven-tenths  will  never,  if  he  can  prevent  it,  rise  up 
from  their  submersion.  He  knows  them  well :  for  he 
belongs  to  them  :  and  he  can  manage  them. 

2  o 


578  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

The  upper  three-tenths  of  the  Catholics,  seeing  the 
priests'  regular  forces  32,000  strong,  and  their  auxili- 
aries, perhaps,  of  equal  numbers,  find  it  to  their  interest, 
whether  they  be  pressmen,  solicitors,  barristers,  doctors, 
architects,  traders,  farmers,  or  nondescript  gentry,  to 
range  themselves  with  the  priests.  They  do  not  like 
the  priests ;  but,  possessing  no  moral  courage,  and 
having  already  surrendered  their  most  vital  principles 
to  the  custody  of  the  sacerdotal  experts,  they  have  no 
definite  guiding  principle  left  but  that  of  temporary 
self-interest  and  love  of  ease. 

The  submerged  seven-tenths  of  Irish  Catholics,  whom 
I  want  to  elevate,  are  steadily  going  from  bad  to  worse 
under  this  regime ;  and  the  priests  themselves  who  are 
drawn  from  their  ranks  are  deteriorating  simultane- 
ously. The  members  of  the  submerged  seven-tenths 
who  are  returned  in  the  census  as  non-illiterates  have 
a  lower  code  of  morality  and  possess  less  mind  than 
did  their  fathers  and  forefathers  who  were  illiterates. 

A  Catholic  apprentice,  fourteen  years  of  age,  was 
charged  at  the  Dublin  Police  Court  on  the  7  th  of 
July  1902  "  with  having  on  Sunday  stolen  from  the 
donation-box  of  the  Catholic  Truth  Society,  in  the 
porch  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Name,  Rathmines," 
money  the  property  of  the  priest.  "  Evidence  was 
given  by  Father  O'Loughlin  that  for  some  time  past 
money  had  been  abstracted  from  the  box.  Marked 
coins  were  placed  in  it,  and  Constable  O'Reilly  was 
stationed  behind  a  door.  He  caught  the  prisoner  in 
the  act  of  using  a  false  key,  and  the  marked  coins 
were  found  in  his  possession."  ^ 

The  Catholic  Truth  Society's  publications  are  the 
class  of  literature  on  which  the  submerged  seven- 
tenths  are  fed  by  the  priests.     If  I  were  asked  to  give 

^  Freeman,  July  8,  1902. 


THE   SUBMERGED  SEVEN-TENTHS      579 

a  name  to  that  society  I  should  call  it  The  Catholic 
Untruth  Society ;  and  I  consider  the  lay  members  of 
the  upper  three-tenths  of  our  Church  who  belong  to  it 
a  discredit  to  human  nature.  The  following  list  of  its 
publications  for  June  1902  discloses  the  class  of  nutri- 
ment on  which  the  minds  of  the  young  priests  are  now 
nourished  at  Maynooth,  and  by  which  the  lay  mind  of 
the  remnant  of  the  nation  would,  to  a  large  extent,  be 
corroded  in  a  priests'  university :  " '  Devotion  to  the 
Sacred  Heart,'  Father  Carberry,  S.J. ;  '  The  Holy  Hour,' 
Rev.  Richard  O'Kennedy,  P.P. ;  '  Devotion  of  the 
Nine  First  Fridays,'  Rev.  J.  M'Donnell,  S.J. ;  '  Visits  to 
the  Most  Blessed  Sacrament,'  St.  Alphonsus  M.  Liguori, 
edited  by  Father  Magnier,  C.SS.R. ;  Tales  of  the  Festi- 
vals :  '  The  Dying  Child '  and  '  The  Feast  of  the  Sacred 
Heart ' ;  '  The  Lamp  of  the  Sanctuary '  (a  Tale  by 
Cardinal  Wiseman) ;  '  Meditations  on  the  Sacred 
Heart,'  '  The  Life  of  our  Lord,'  by  Rev.  F.  O'Loughlin, 
C.C. — in  whose  chapel,  I  understand,  the  robbery 
occurred ;  '  The  Eucharist,'  '  Life  of  Blessed  Margaret 
Mary  Alacoque,'  by  Fr.  CuUen,  S.J. ;  '  Counsels  on 
Holy  Communion,'  by  Monsigneur  De  Segur."  ^ 

A  Catholic  carpenter  was  charged,  on  the  same  day, 
at  the  same  court,  with  throwing  handfuls  of  gravel  or 
shingle  at  "  the  members  of  the  Plymouth  Brethren 
while  they  Avere  holding  an  open-air  meeting  near  the 
Gough  statue  in  the  Phcenix  Park  on  Sunday.  The 
constable  was  on  duty  in  plain  clothes,  and  happening 
to  be  standing  beside  the  prisoner  when  he  threw  the 
missiles,  he  at  once  arrested  him."  ^ 

Those  are  the  sort  of  people  who  are  reared  by 
priests,  and  on  whose  non-illiteracy  thoughtless  scribes 
congratulate  the  country. 

A  Catholic  woman   from   the   Queen's  County  was 

>  Fretvuin,  May  26,  1902.  -  Ibid.,  July  8,  1902. 


58o  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

charged  with  having  murdered  her  husband  on  the 
17  th  of  June  1902.  He  was  a  poor  carter,  and  his 
head  was  broken  and  he  was  left  lying  dead  within  a 
few  paces  of  his  own  door.  A  man  was  charged  with 
complicity  in  the  crime,  a  neighbour  of  the  deceased. 
But  the  material  point  lies  in  the  evidence  of  the 
woman's  brother,  who  swore  "  that  he  had  often  found 
the  male  prisoner  in  the  house  of  the  murdered  man 
and  his  wife  and  children  in  the  husband's  absence  " ; 
and  that,  when  on  a  visit  to  his  sister  a  month 
previously,  "  he  told  her  it  would  be  better  for  her 
to  look  after  her  children  than  be  giving  money  "  to 
her  alleged  paramour  to  drink.^ 

There  are  50,599  Catholics  in  Queen's  County, 
out  of  a  total  population  of  57,417.  In  1871  the 
population  of  the  county  was  79,771,  and  in  that 
year  its  admitted  establishment  of  priests,  monks, 
and  nuns  numbered  139.^  In  190 1,  when  the  people 
had  diminished  by  22,354,  0^  over  28  per  cent.,  the 
admitted  sacerdotal  establishment  had  risen  to  235.'"^ 
If  we  add  the  teachers  under  priests'  control,  149,  we 
find  the  principal  officers  of  the  priests'  service  in  the 
county  number  384;  whereas  the  imperial  govern- 
ment service,  including  male  and  female  civil  servants, 
numbers  only  48  ;  and  the  local  government  service, 
including  157  police  and  all  municipal  and  county 
officials,  of  both  sexes,  numbers  only  221.  Both 
services  combined  are  only  two-thirds  of  the  priests' 
force  without  count inr/  the  subsidiary  religious.  Lawyers, 
doctors,  and  engineers  only  number  45  ;  and  there  are 
only  6  midwives.  The  decrease  in  population  in  the 
decade  ended  1901  was  6458;  but  of  that  number, 
emigration  only  accounted  for  4438.     The  birth-rate 

^  Evening  Telcf/ra/'h,  June  27,  1902. 
-  "Census  of  Ireland,"  1901  and  1871. 


A  MAYO  "MAN"  581 

was  only  19.6  per  1000,  while  the  mean  birth-rate  lor 
Ireland  was  23  per  1000;  the  death-rate  was  17.3 
per  1000.  There  was  therefore  a  small  excess  of  2 
per  1000  of  births  over  deaths — that  is  to  say,  114 
individuals  per  annum ;  but  the  "  barren "  religious 
fraternities  rather  more  than  carried  off  that  margin 
for  home  and  foreign  service. 

In  the  pious  county  of  Mayo,  near  the  village  of 
Kiltimagh,  where  emaciated  and  half-naked  Avidows 
turning  manure-heaps  and  sleeping  on  bundles  of  rags, 
are  exhibited  to  English  newspaper  correspondents  by 
fat  priests  as  evidence  of  Irish  industry,^  a  murder 
was  committed  on  the  20tli  of  May  1902 — near  Kil- 
timagh, where  the  little  convent  girls  call  themselves 
"  Ooonagh "  instead  of  "  Winnie,"  and  make  Bishop 
Lyster,  to  use  his  own  words,  "  look  a  bit  foolish " 
Avhen  they  talk  Irish  to  him.  A  woman  was  driving  her 
cattle  through  a  passage  over  which  there  was  a  con- 
tested right-of-way,  on  that  summer's  day,  Avheu  a  neigh- 
bour, a  full-grown  male  inhabitant  of  jMayo,  assaulted 
her  and  obstructed  the  advance  of  the  cows.  She  called 
for  help.  Her  aged  mother  and  some  neighbours 
responded  to  the  call,  and  by  their  aid  the  cattle  were 
driven  over  the  contested  ground.  The  Mayo  "  man,"  it 
is  alleged,  struck  the  poor  elderly  mother  with  an  iron 
mulechain,  "  broke  her  chest-bone,  smashed  her  shin, 
as  well  as  inflicted  other  injuries  on  her  head."  ^  All 
the  neighbours  witnessed  the  outrage.  The  old  woman 
was  carried  home,  was  attended  by  a  priest,  died  on  the 
following  day,  and  was  hurriedly  buried  in  twenty-four 
hours  after  her  decease.  The  entire  occurrence  was 
hushed  up.  And  the  crime  might  never  have  been 
heard  of  to  disarrange  the  idyllic  tableau  of  State- 
subsidised  nuns  ;  ragged  manure- turning  widows ;  and 

^  Daily  Mail,  June  1902.  "^  Freeman,  July  4,  1902. 


582  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

fat  priests,  in  wliicli  the  Kiltimagh  district  is  studi- 
ously arranged  for  public  view,  if  the  daughter  of  the 
murdered  woman  had  not  disclosed  the  events  in  a 
letter  written,  a  month  after  the  occurrence,  to  her 
husband,  a  migratory  labourer  then  in  England. 

He  at  once  wrote  to  the  police,  and  they  arrested 
"  the  man."  The  body  was  exhumed,  and  the  coroner's 
jury  found  that  "deceased  died  from  natural  causes  (!), 
but  that  death  was  accelerated  by  the  injuries  which, 
they  were  satisfied,  were  inflicted  by  the  prisoner." 

In  the  Dublin  Police  Court,  on  the  27th  of  June 
1 902,  a  Catholic  "  widow  and  charwoman  "  was  charged 
with  using  profane  language  in  the  streets.  The  mighty 
Dominican,  Dr.  Keane,  "  deposed  that  he  was  accom- 
panied by  two  other  clergymen,  when  he  noticed  the 
prisoner.  When  she  saw  him  and  his  friends  she 
began  to  yell  out  a  general  denunciation  of  the  Pope, 
Cardinal  Logue,  and  the  clergy,  saying  '  To  h — 1  with 
them  all,'  so  loud  that  she  could  almost  have  been 
heard  at  the  Rotunda.  They  passed  her  hy  without 
noticing  her ;  but  she  went  on  with  her  denunciations ; 
and  he  called  upon  Constable  212  C  to  arrest  her."  ^ 

How  far  his  practice  fell  short  of  his  preaching ! 
If  the  child  of  such  a  woman  should  be  worshipped 
on  bended  knees  by  the  King  of  England,  was  not 
the  mother  worth  a  word  of  Christian  admonition  ? 

The  prisoner,  one  of  the  submerged  seven-tenths, 
"  declared  that  she  was  a  Catholic." 

The  magistrate,  one  of  the  upper  three-tenths,  said  : 
"  Do  you  expect  me  to  believe  that  ?  If  you  are,  you 
are  a  discredit  to  your  Church." 

Prisoner — "  He  (the  mighty  Dominican)  should  not 
have  minded  me  with  a  little  drink  in.  If  you  (the 
magistrate)  took  a  little  sup  of  punch  yourself " 

^  Evening  Telegraph. 


A  REAL  TRAGEDY  583 

The  magistrate  ordered  the  prisoner  to  be  put  back, 
and  the  woman  was  removed,  "  saying  she  asked  God's 
pardon  for  what  she  had  done." 

Such  are  a  few  of  the  sentences  taken  at  random 
from  the  handwriting  on  the  wall,  which  may  well 
disturb  the  luxurious  banquets  of  the  priests  in 
Ireland,  if  they  are  not  so  far  gone  in  indolence  and 
self-satisfaction  as  to  have  lost  the  faculties  of  percep- 
tion and  prescience. 

I  have  known  instances  of  priests  having  been 
drawn  from  amongst  the  pupils  of  industrial  schools ; 
and  I  am  naturally  led  to  ask  the  question.  Is  that 
why  the  priests  are  so  keen  upon  the  management 
of  those  State-supported  schools  ?  It  is  not  right 
to  depreciate  a  human  being  because  of  his  lowly 
origin ;  but  children,  before  admission  to  these  schools, 
have  to  be  convicted  before  a  magistrate  as  vagrant 
beggars.  If  they  are  not  absolutely  tramps'  children, 
they  have  to  be  put  through  the  degradation  of  being 
sent  on  the  street  to  beg  by  an  industrial  school's 
pimp,  and  thus  they  court  arrest  at  the  hands  of  a 
collusive  policeman.  I  actually  saw  the  tragedy  en- 
acted in  Grafton  Street,  Dublin,  recently.  Talk  of 
the  popular  actor's  mock-tragedy ;  talk  of  his  made-up 
face,  and  his  feigned  tremulousness,  and  his  artificial 
strut !  There  was  a  thousandfold  more  tragedy  than 
any  paid  actor  ever  simulated,  in  the  deadly- white 
face  and  wild  eyes  of  that  rather  well-clad  little  boy  of 
eight  or  nine.  I  could  see  his  little  heart  thumping 
under  his  Norfolk  jacket.  Oh,  what  a  beginning  that 
was  to  make  in  life  ! 

Another  priests'  advertisement  appeals  for  the 
"  Archconfraternity  of  St.  Joseph,  protector  of  souls 
in  purgatory — a  thoroughly  Irish  work,"  whose  glean- 
ings are  referred  to  in  the  eleventh  chapter,  and  the 


584  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

object  of  which  is,  "  to  provide  for  the  priestly  educa- 
tion of  poor  Irish  boys  for  the  Foreign  Mission,  where 
priests  are  badly  wanted.  These  boys  will  be  specially 
devoted  to  the  interests  of  St.  Joseph  and  of  the  Holy 
Souls."  ' 

Where  and  how  are  those  "  poor  Irish  boys "  ob- 
tained ?  Have  such  boys  arrived  at  the  age  of  full 
human  understanding  when  they  take  the  first  irre- 
trievable steps  towards  the  priesthood  ?  Let  those 
who  have  been  at  boarding-schools  themselves,  or  who 
have  sent,  or  contemplate  sending,  their  children  to 
boarding-schools,  consider  the  following  offer  inade  to 
Irish  Catholic  parents  having  boys  uncle?'  twelve  years 
of  age.  It  is  an  advertisement  from  the  "  Salesian 
School,  Surrey  Lane,  Battersea,  London,  S.W.,  directed 
and  taught  by  the  Salesian  Fathers" — neighbours  of 
Cardinal  Vaughan  and  the  Duke  of  Norfolk. 

"  The  principal  object  of  this  school  (which  is  dis- 
tiiwt  from  the  Orploanarje)  is  to  provide  a  classical  educa- 
tion at  a  moderate  charge  for  those  boys  who  desire  to 
study  for  the  priesthood.  The  course  is  arranged  to 
meet  the  requirements  of  the  College  of  Preceptors 
and  the  London  University  Examinations.  Special 
advantages  are  offered  for  the  study  of  modern  lan- 
guages, which  are  taught  by  native  professors.  Boys 
who  have  no  vocation  for  the  ecclesiastical  state  are 
prepared  for  any  other  career  that  they  may  wish  to 
follow.  The  house  is  surrounded  by  a  large  garden 
and  playground,  and  is  situated  in  a  most  healthy 
locality,  a  few  minutes'  walk  from  the  Park.  Terms — 
boys  under  twelve,  ^16  per  annum;  over  twelve,  ^18. 
For  particulars  apply  to  the  Superior."  '^ 

"  Distinct  from  the  Orphanage,"  and  "  Boys  under 
twelve,"   specially  advertised  for  !     The  average  rate 

'  Irish  Catholic.  ^  Freeman's  Journal,  August  17,  1901. 


RECRUITING  FOR   PRIESTS  585 

per  head  which  our  priests  and  nuns  get  from  the 
Government  for  vagrant  boys  in  so-called  "  industrial " 
schools  in  Ireland  is  more  than  the  pension  in  this 
priests'  school  in  Cardinal  Vaughan's  diocese. 

There  is  an  increasing  demand  for  boys  from  Ire- 
land for  such  purposes,  and  so  long  as  the  priests' 
monopoly  in  industrial  schools  exists,  there  need  be  no 
ultimate  doubt  of  an  ample  supply,  if  boys  cannot  be 
found  whose  parents  can  afford  £16  per  annum. 

Many  other  advertisements  might  be  quoted.  One 
under  the  heading  of  "  Religious  Vocations  "  runs  thus  : 
"  Postulants  v/anted  for  Missionary  Franciscan  Brother- 
hood. Young  men  between  seventeen  and  twenty-five 
may  apply  to  Father  Superior,  St.  Anthony's  House, 
Nottingham,  Enirland." 

In  our  Irish  clerical  colleges,  too,  the  work  of  re- 
cruiting for  foreign  countries  and  the  colonies  never 
grows  slack,  although  Irish  priests  are  always  so  busy 
beating  up  recruits  for  themselves.  I  have  more  than 
once  heard  the  complaint  solemnly  made  from  Dublin 
pulpits  that  the  "  sacred  ranks  "  of  the  priesthood  in 
the  diocese  were  undermanned,  and  harrowing  pictures 
drawn  of  the  dreadful  consequences  which  would  result 
from  a  scarcity  of  priests. 

The  following  advertisement  from  the  diocese  of 
Kildare  and  Leighlin,  Bishop  Foley's  territory,  shows 
some  of  the  special  inducements  which  are  offered 
to  secure  postulants  for  England,  America,  and  the 
Colonies,^  in  Carlow  ecclesiastical  college.  The  ad- 
vertisement says :  "  There  are  at  present  a  large 
number  of  American,  Australian,  and  English  bishops 
who  have  expressed  their  willingness  to  adopt  students 
of  Carlow  College,  from  the  Logic  Class  upwards, 
provided  they  can  furnish  satisfactory  credentials   of 

^  Freeman's  Journal,  August  14,  1901. 


586  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

character  and  ability.  The  pension  of  all  the  students 
in  the  Philosophy  and  Theology  Classes  who  are 
reading  for  other  than  Irish  Missions  is  reduced  by 
an  allowance  of  ;^  1 2  from  the  College  Foreign  Mission 
funds.  In  nearly  every  case  where  a  student  has  been 
affiliated  to  a  diocese,  the  allowance  from  the  College 
funds  is  supplemented  by  a  generous  allowance  from 
the  Bishop  of  that  diocese.  The  pensions  of  students 
in  the  Humanity  and  Rhetoric  classes  who  are  reading 
for  other  than  Irish  Missions  is  reduced  by  an  allow- 
ance varying  from  £6  to  ;^  1 1 ." 

I  know  several  ecclesiastical  students  in  the  diocese 
of  Dublin,  who  are  being  "  educated "  free  for  the 
home  mission,  both  at  Clonliffe  Diocesan  College  and 
at  Maynooth.  The  sons  of  professional  men  hardly  ever 
become  priests  ;  the  sons  of  the  gentry  never ;  even 
the  sons  of  well-to-do  shopkeepers  and  farmers  will 
Twt  become  priests,  unless  they  are  enticed  into  an 
irretrievable  step  when  very  young.  But  the  sons  of 
licensed  publicans  frequently  become  priests — perhaps 
as  an  act  of  reparation — the  connection  between  the 
priests  and  the  publicans  being  very  intimate.  The 
sons  of  policemen,  national  teachers,  local  government 
officials,  and  others  who  owe  their  positions  to 
sacerdotal  patronage,  and  even  labouring  men's  sons, 
now  supply  the  bulk  of  the  Irish  priests.  All  these 
people  are  respectable,  and  their  children  are  equally 
so ;  but  they  are,  nevertheless,  the  class  of  priests' 
Irishmen  who  are  out  of  touch  with  European  civilisa- 
tion, and  belong,  mainly,  to  the  submerged  seven- 
tenths  of  our  fellow-religionists.  It  is  certain  that 
those  boys  get  a  better  living  from  the  priesthood 
than  they  could  from  any  other  career  open  to  them 
with  suchj^inferior  education  as  they  get  under  the 
management  of  the  priests. 


THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  COLLEGES       587 

They  must  not  marry ;  but,  there  are  a  great  many 
luxurious  lay  bachelors  who  cannot  be  induced  to 
take  wives  for  love  or  money,  and  who  assert  that 
they  lose  nothing  by  their  state  of  single  blessedness. 
If  our  priests  got  married,  the  "  Church  "  would  fall 
to  pieces  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye. 

Drawn  from  such  home  circles,  the  theological 
students  receive  an  education  pre-eminently  calcu- 
lated to  disimprove  instead  of  improving  their  char- 
acters. They  are  kept  in  isolation,  first  at  the  diocesan 
seminaries,  and  afterwards  at  the  ecclesiastical  colleges, 
such  as  Maynooth,  All  Hallows,  Carlow,  Thurles, 
Waterford,  Wexford,  the  Irish  College  at  Rome,  the 
Irish  College  at  Paris,  and  the  other  places  from 
which  they  are  ordained. 

And  how  do  they  occupy  themselves  during  these 
years  ?  Nominally  in  learning  "  theology  " — that  is 
to  say,  a  system  of  effete  and  dishonest  casuistry  which 
the  prosperous  Christian  world  emancipated  itself  from, 
after  much  bloodshed  and  sorrow,  in  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries.  They  are  forbidden  to  read  the 
newspapers.  They  spend  a  great  deal  of  time  daily  in 
"  meditations,"  that  is  to  say,  sitting  or  kneeling  and 
doing  nothing.  Their  minds  become  steadily  "  dis- 
eased." Every  soft  and  elevating  emotion  of  the 
human  heart  is  eradicated  under  the  sway  of  the 
ease-loving,  callous,  and  cynical  bachelors  who  con- 
trol them.  The  finer  filial  and  fraternal  ties  which 
ought  to  bind  them  to  their  homes  and  kindred  are 
relaxed  and  obliterated.  Subterfuge,  evasion,  and  spy- 
ing are  rife  under  the  mind-crushing  regime  of  the 
theological  colleges. 

Drink  and  tobacco  are  forbidden  to  the  students, 
but  as  they  are  freely  indulged  in  by  the  bishops, 
ordained  priests,  and  theological  professors,  they  are 


588  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

also  smuggled  into  the  students'  rooms.  If  the  pro- 
fessors officially  heard  the  confessions  of  the  students, 
one  of  two  things  would  happen:  Either  they  would, 
in  secret,  become  cognisant  of  all  breaches  of  college 
discipline  ;  or  the  defaulting  student  would  make  "  bad 
confessions,"  to  be  followed  up  by  "  bad  communions," 
thereby,  in  the  words  of  the  Catechism,  "  committing 
the  heinous  crime  of  sacrilege,"  and  the  professors 
would  remain  in  ignorance  of  breaches  of  discipline. 
The  plan  adopted,  therefore,  is  to  employ  outside 
priests,  unconnected  with  the  college,  as  confessors,  to 
whom  defaulting  students  may  confess  their  laxities, 
and,  being  absolved  frequently,  pursue  their  careers  of 
delinquency  with  minds  at  ease. 

Some  practices  of  the  students,  called  "  navigation," 
and  of  which  most  of  us  are  coscnisant,  would  be 
humorous  if  one  could  forget  the  pretensions  of  the 
priests. 

A  professor,  chancing  to  raise  a  hollow  statue  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin  or  one  of  the  saints  in  a  student's 
room  in  a  theolosfical  collesfe,  has  often  found  a  bottle 
of  whisky,  a  pipe  and  tobacco  underneath  it !  Or,  if 
he  happens  to  lift  the  tail  of  a  theological  student's 
long  clerical  coat  as  the  student  passes  through  the 
porter's  lodge  at  Maynooth,  after  paying  a  visit  to  his 
dentist  in  Dublin,  a  parcel  may  be  found,  containing  a 
bottle  of  whisky  and  a  cake,  dangling  between  his  legs, 
suspended  by  a  cord  attached  to  his  braces  or  made  fast 
to  a  band  around  his  neck  inside  the  Roman  collar  ! 

The  ecclesiastical  student  has  one  cardinal  prin- 
ciple— if  I  may  use  that  noble  word  in  such  a  con- 
nection— burned  into  his  vitals  from  the  first,  namely  : 

That  it  would  be  an  unmeasurable  crime,  disgrace, 
treason,  and  meanness  to  leave  the  Roman  Catholic 
religion. 


THE  PRIEST'S  GOSPEL  589 

He  may  commit  any  crime  and  be  absolved  for  it ; 
but  he  must  not  commit  that  atrocious  iniquity.  He 
may  disobey  the  Church  every  hour  of  his  Hfe,  he  may 
be  a  drunkard,  a  sensuaHst,  a  gambler,  a  murderer,  and 
be  forgiven  as  often  as  he  deshes ;  but  he  must  not  be 
guilty  of  the  meanness  of  deserting  the  "  old  faith." 
That  is  what  is  written  in  vitriol  in  the  heart  of  the 
priest ;  and  the  priest  in  his  turn  tattoos  it  all  over  the 
mind  and  brain  of  the  lay  children  in  the  schools. 
The  three  fundamental  lessons  which  the  priest  burns 
into  the  lay  Catholic  in  youth  are : 

1.  Remain  a  Catholic  imder  any  circumstances. 

2.  Go  to  Mass  on  Sundays. 

3.  Don't  eat  meat  on  Fridays, 

There  are,  as  we  know,  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
nonconformist  Catholics  in  Ireland  who  comply  with 
no  other  rule  of  faith  beyond  these  three,  yet  they 
get  on  very  well  with  the  priests. 

The  conception  of  his  own  semi- divinity  grows  upon 
the  sacerdotal  student  in  various  Avays.  He  starts  by 
looking  down  upon  his  parents  and  relatives.  Having 
settled  that  point,  he  proceeds  to  adjust  the  whole 
world  to  his  own  limited  scale  of  vision — and  he  looks 
down  upon  the  whole  world.  But  let  a  young  Irish 
priest,  Father  Gildea  of  Donegal,  depict  the  altitude 
of  the  priest's  position  for  us  in  his  own  words  :  ^  — 

"The  object  of  Christ's  mission  on  earth  was  the 
salvation  of  the  wliole  human  race.  .  .  .  To  accomplish 
this  object  He  did  not  propose  to  remain  for  ever  in 
our  midst.  This  being  so,  we  may  naturally  ask  our- 
selves how  were  future  generations  to  be  saved,  how 
were  they  to  get  the  means  of  salvation  ?  These  were 
questions,  doubtless,  which  presented  themselves  to  the 
mind  of  Christ,  but  to  that  mind  the  solution  was  quite 

'  Derry  Journal,  August  5,  1896  :  verbatim  report  of  sermon  preached 
at  Burtonport. 


590  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

easy.     He  saw  clearly,  if  we  were  to  be  saved,  we  must 
first  be  supplied  with  the  means." 

If  we  accept  the  following  presentation  of  the  case, 
we  must  suppose  Christ  to  have  forgotten  that  He 
was  about  to  die  on  the  cross  for  the  redemption  of 
humanity.  But  let  the  preacher  pursue  his  theme  in 
his  own  words  as  reported : — 

"  He  (Christ)  saw,  moreover,  that  the  means  best 
suited  for  the  attainment  of  that  end  was  the  priest- 
hood, and,  therefore.  He  determined  that  the  priesthood 
should  be  instituted.  .  .  .  No  doubt  it  is  utterly  im- 
possible that  we  can  ever  hope  to  understand  the 
power  that  has  been  conferred  on  the  priests  of  the 
New  Law,  and  it  is  equally  impossible  that  we  can  ever 
get  more  than  a  vague  idea  of  the  great  dignity  to 
which  they  have  been  raised.  .  .  .  The  priests  of  the 
New  Law,  whose  duty  it  is  to  offer  up  the  adorable 
sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  wherein  Christ  Himself  is  the 
victim,  and  in  which  His  very  body  is  rendered  present 
on  our  altars,  are  empowered  not  alone  to  offer  sacri- 
fice, but  to  remit  directly  the  sins  of  all  men." 

The  one  real  sacrifice,  then,  would  not  have  suflSced, 
if  it  were  not  followed  up  by  a  constant  repetition  of 
make-believe  sacrifices,  the  enactment  of  six  of  which, 
as  we  know,  may  be  purchased  for  a  pound  sterling ! 
Father  Gildea  is  reported  to  have  gone  on  as  follows  : — 

"  Thus  in  the  New  Dispensation  a  twofold  power  is 
imparted  to  the  priest,  power  over  the  natural  body  of 
Christ,  and  power  over  the  members  of  the  Church.  .  .  . 
The  rulers  of  the  earth  issue  commands ;  but  a  greater 
power  far  is  given  to  the  priest  of  God.  Every  day, 
in  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  he  can  say  to  the  Son  of 
God,  '  Come  down  from  Heaven,'  and  immediately 
Christ  obeys  .  .  .  comes  and  meekly  rests  on  our  altars, 
within  the  little  chalice  or  the  cold  ciborium.  What 
earthly  power  can  vie  with  this,  or,  might  I  add,  what 
heavenly  power  either  ?     The  angels,  indeed,  see  our 


I 


A  CONTROLLER  OF   GOD'S  MOVEMENTS     591 

Lord  face  to  face,  but  then  they  are  not  permitted  to 
hold  Him  in  their  hands  or  to  control  His  move- 
ments. .  .  ." 

Such  is  the  distorted  conception  of  his  own  semi- 
divinity  or,  rather,  super-divinity  which  the  ignorant 
Irish  peasant's  boy,  who  has  become  an  ecclesiastical 
student,  forms  of  his  own  place  in  the  scale  of  the 
universe. 

What  are  chief  secretaries,  prime  ministers,  lord 
lieutenants,  even  kings  themselves,  compared  with  the 
young  priest  from  Donegal  ?  And  to  their  everlasting 
discredit  be  it  said,  many  chief  secretaries  and  many 
lord  lieutenants — I  shall  not  go  farther — in  recent 
years,  have  played  a  mean,  time-serving  part  in  con- 
firming the  Roman  Catholic  priests  of  Ireland  in  such 
delusions. 

"  The  rulers  of  this  world,"  continued  Father  Gildea, 
"  have  power  to  open  and  close  the  prison  gates  of  earth, 
but  the  priest  can  open  and  close  the  gates  of  heaven 
and  hell.  An  earthly  judge  can  restore  the  innocent 
alone  to  freedom,  but  the  priest  can  give  that  blessing 
even  to  the  guilty.  Take  a  poor  sinner  whose  soul  is 
weighed  down  with  the  accumulated  sins  of  many  years, 
and  see  to  whom  must  he  have  recourse  if  he  seeks  for 
mercy,  .  .  .  The  angels  indeed  may  keep  away  the  evil 
spirits  which  surround  this  poor  child  of  Adam ;  Mary 
may  pray  for  him  ;  but  neither  the  angels  nor  Mary  can 
remove  one  single  sin  from  his  soul.  Who  can  do  this 
for  him  ?  The  priest  of  God.  He  can  rescue  the  sinner 
from  hell,  and  make  him  worthy  to  be  received  into 
heaven.  Go,  therefore,  where  you  will,  to  heaven  or 
through  this  earth,  you  will  find  only  one  created  being 
who  can  forgive  the  sinner,  and  that  Being  is  the  Catho- 
lic priest.  ...  In  one  word,  he  is,  as  it  were,  the  great 
channel  through  which  all  the  helps  and  means  of  salva- 
tion are  conveyed  to  our  souls." 

Such  a  code  of  doctrine  as  this  is  well  calculated  to 
ruin  the  infatuated  people  who  believe  in  it.     It  blots 


592  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

out  the  death  of  Christ  from  the  book  of  history,  and 
denies  to  that  ineffable  sacrifice  any  saving  effect  what- 
ever. It  kills  all  practice  of  real  virtue,  destroys 
Christian  self-help  and  individual  responsibility.  It 
sets  a  premium  upon  vice  by  the  ease,  frequency,  and 
secrecy  with  which  it  can  be  forgiven.  It  encourages 
superstition,  including  a  belief  in  evil  spirits,  resulting 
in  a  lucrative  trade  in  masses.  It  reduces  respect  for 
the  omnipotent  God  almost  to  vanishing  point ;  and, 
thereby,  extirpates  self-respect  and  all  the  virtues  that 
follow  in  the  wake  of  self-respect — namely,  industry, 
hopefulness,  truth,  courage,  and  moral  rectitude. 

It  is  the  same  gospel  as  the  pagan  priests  preached 
many  centuries  before  the  Papacy — founded  by  a 
decree  of  the  debauched  Emperor  Phocas,  and  not 
by  Christ — brought  its  priests  upon  the  stage  of  the 
world.  It  is  the  gospel  Avhich  has  been  rejected  by 
all  civilisation  and  by  the  better  half  of  white  humanity. 
It  explains  why  the  social  system  in  Roman  Catholic 
Ireland,  resting  upon  a  foundation  of  such  blasphemous 
fallacies,  is  a  failure  and  a  fraud.  It  explains  why 
Catholic  Ireland  is  rotting  like  a  diseased  limb  in  the 
otherwise  sound  body-politic  of  the  United  Kingdom. 
It  explains  why  every  country  which  professes  this 
creed  is  in  a  condition  of  stagnation.  It  explains  why 
the  world  owes  whatever  of  comfort,  progress,  and  en- 
lightenment it  has  achieved,  to  the  men  and  nations 
who  have  discarded  the  gospel  of  Father  Gildea. 

With  such  exaggerated  notions  of  his  own  super- 
divinity,  the  theological  student  spends  the  point-years 
of  a  man's  life  nursing  his  delusions  in  stagnant  isola- 
tion. Without  his  perceiving  it,  the  pointsmen  are 
lifting  their  carefully  devised  levers  and  directing  him 
off  the  main  line  of  truth  and  progress,  and  leading 
him  on  to  one  of  the  farthernjost  sidings  of  life's  rail- 


THE   SACRED   SAURIANS  593 

way,  where  the  effete  Roman  CathoHc  rolling-stock 
stands  rusting  and  worm-eaten,  creaking  and  groaning 
when  the  slightest  movement  is  required. 

When  the  young  man  is  ordained,  and  finds  himself 
installed  as  a  curate  in  a  parish,  he  is  like  a  crocodile 
on  shore,  in  touch  with  animal  life  for  the  first  time. 
He  does  not  know  the  actual  strength  of  his  own  jaws, 
though  he  has  been  hearing  them  snap  in  imagination 
for  many  years  while  floating  in  the  ecclesiastical  pools 
of  the  theological  colleges — brooding  alone  in  his  room, 
or  ruminating  in  his  "  meditations." 

Ho  has  ceased  to  be  a  man ;  he  is  a  saurian  covered 
with  thick  scales  and  a  green  archaic  slime. 

Some  of  the  very  best  spirits,  when  they  have  had 
time  for  a  survey  of  the  outside  world,  cast  off  the 
scales  and  cease  to  be  saurians,  and  become  men ;  or  as 
nearly  like  men  as  it  is  possible  for  them  to  become. 
All  credit  be  to  them  and  pity  for  them  !  What  greater 
impediment  to  human  progress  can  be  conceived  than 
the  course  of  mental  misdirection  to  which  they  have 
been  subjected  ?  The  sordid  ideals  which  have  been 
placed  before  them,  and  up  to  which  they  have  been 
trained  to  live — worst  of  all,  to  handle  God  and  "  control 
His  movements,"  as  we  have  heard  it  put,  in  return 
for  a  small  sum  of  money,  whenever  invited  to  do  so — 
make  it  impossible  for  them  to  become,  unless  with 
strenuous  self-effort  in  after-life,  high-minded  or  well- 
principled  men.  Their  history  shows  how  few  of 
them  ever  succeed  in  getting  their  minds  to  work 
straightly  again.  The  best  of  them  are  plotters  and 
prosperity- worshippers,  eager  to  range  themselves  on 
the  winning  side,  never  prepared  to  commit  them- 
selves wholly  to  any  side.  If  the  truth  dawns  upon 
them — and  I  know  that  it  has  dawned  upon  many  of 
them — they  have  not  principle  enough  to  break  openly 

2  P 


594  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

with  an  institution  of  which  they  disapprove.  The 
vitriol-letters  are  stamped  in  their  hard  hearts,  out 
of  which  all  the  softening,  legitimate  loves  of  human 
nature  have  been  seared :  Don't  cease  to  be  a  Catho- 
lic !  Don't  desert  the  Faith  !  But,  over  and  above 
that,  which  applies  to  laymen  as  well  as  priests,  there 
is  this  to  be  remembered,  that  their  low  view  of  human 
life,  their  Evil  Spirit,  to  use  their  own  term,  eternally 
whispers  in  their  ear  the  following  counsel  and  warning : 
How  can  you  live  if  you  give  it  up  ?  True,  the  prosely- 
tisers  may  give  you  something,  hut  you  will  have  to  do 
work  for  it.  You  vnll  have  to  become  an  ordinary  un- 
worshipped  human  being.  Tour  training  has  unfitted  you 
for  that.  You  fool,  you  could  never  stand  it.  You  are 
not  a  man.  You  are  a  sacred  crocodile.  Your  home  is 
in  the  pool  where  you  can  fioat  and  grow  fat  at  ease. 

And  the  evil  spirit  laughs  stridently,  and  wins  the 
day.  Then  the  parish  priest  makes  for  himself  a  little 
pool  in  his  own  parish,  in  his  own  house  and  church, 
in  which  he  floats  and  grows  fat.  And  he  soon  learns 
how  to  close  his  formidable  jaws  upon  weak  humanity 
— children  especially,  then  women,  and  some  men — 
in  the  school,  in  the  pulpit,  and  in  the  confessional ; 
as,  with  advancing  years,  he  grows  more  inured  to  his 
situation.  And  if  the  prey  will  not  come  to  him  in  the 
pool,  he  goes  forth  to  seek  it ;  but  he  arranges  matters 
so  that  nineteen-twentieths  of  his  operations  are  carried 
on  in  the  pool. 

And  each  saurian  crawls  out  of  his  own  parish  pool 
once  a  month  and  goes  to  the  big  pool  at  the  deanery, 
where  they  all  float  and  gormandise  at  a  conference ; 
and  when  one  of  them  dies  there  is  a  great  foregather- 
ing at  the  dead  saurian's  pool.  And  the  prey — the 
laity — look  on  in  wonder  at  it  all,  and  keep  out  of  the 
way  of  the  saurians,  who  know  by  rote  all  the  sins 


LAY  DESERTIONS  595 

of  each  layman  and  laywoman ;  and  the  laity  only 
visit  the  pools  of  the  saurians  under  compulsion  and 
threat  of  eternal  damnation  as  the  punishment  of 
absenting  themselves. 

The  Catholic  laity  either  live  out  in  the  desert,  leav- 
ing the  sacred  saurians  to  possess  the  fertile  land  along 
the  banks,  or  they  come  into  the  rich  loam  amongst  the 
pools  and  work  for  the  sacerdotal  organisation. 

There  are  many  men  and  women  in  the  rich  land 
who  do  not  fear  the  priests ;  for  they  have  "  put  on 
the  armour  of  righteousness  "  and  discarded  the  scales 
of  Rite.  They  are  protestant  Catholics  whose  ancestors 
rose  up  for  Christ  against  the  priests,  and  there  are 
1,1  50,000  of  them  ;  but  for  whom  the  dreaded  priests 
would  utterly  possess  Ireland.  "  In  other  lands,"  said 
Father  Kane,  the  Jesuit,  recently,  "  other  kinds  of  error 
imperil  Faith.  The  mental  poison  of  our  Irish  atmos- 
phere is  Protestantism."  ^  Most  of  the  Protestants  love 
the  poor  victims  of  the  saurians,  and  have  for  genera- 
tions been  doing  all  that  mortal  wit  could  devise  to 
save  Ireland  from  the  priests.  But  the  laity  bear  the 
vitriol  stamp  in  their  hearts :  Don't  cease  to  be  a 
Catholic  !     Don't  desert  the  Faith  ! 

The  poor  Irish  laity  fly  out  of  Ireland  from  the 
priests  at  the  rate  of  40,000  per  annum,  and  they 
quietly  desert  "  the  faith  "  in  thousands  every  year — 
in  America  notably,  and  in  Great  Britain.  Father 
Jar  vis,  Ely  Place,  London,  is  reported 'as  saying  : — 

"  We  have  heard  a  great  deal  about  the  leakage 
going  on  amongst  the  Cathohc  population  of  London ; 
and  leakage  is  taking  place  chiefly  among  the  lower 
classes  of  the  London  Irish,  who,  year  after  year,  give 
up  the  practice  of  their  religion,  and  cease  to  enter  a 
Catholic  church.     Most  of  them  marry  non-Catholics, 

^  Sermon  reported  in  Dei-ry  Jounud,  June  9,  1902. 


596  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

men  and  women,  without  religion  of  any  kind,  and  the 
children  of  these  marriages,  oftentimes  contracted  at 
the  Registrar's  office,  or  in  a  Protestant  church,  are 
too  frequently  brought  up  without  faith,  go  to  Board 
Schools,  and  consider  themselves  Protestants.  I  have 
come  across  cases  of  this  kind  myself,  and  all  my 
efforts  to  bring  such  people  back  to  the  faith  have 
proved  useless.  They  did  not  wish  to  be  Catholics, 
although  they  admitted  that  their  grandparents 
were."  ^ 

According  to  the  Oblate,  Father  Shinnors,  the  Irish 
immigrants  in  America  desert  in  millions.  He  points 
out  that  the  entire  Roman  Catholic  population  of  all 
nationalities  in  the  States  is  only  claimed  to  be 
1 0,000,000 ;  whereas  he  estimates  that  the  Roman 
Catholic  Irish  and  their  descendants  alone  number 
more  than  that  figure ;  and  the  non-growth  of  Roman 
Catholicism  ^  is  attributable,  says  the  Oblate  Father,  to 
"  the  speedy  absorption  of  Catholic  immigrants,  and 
particularly  of  Irish  Catholic  immigrants,  into  the 
irreligious  and  unbelieving  masses." 

I  have  a  considerable  number  of  relatives  in  the 
United  States ;  and,  in  a  general  way,  I  know  a  good 
deal  about  that  country:  and  I  have  no  hesitation  in 
saying  that  many  Catholic  immigrants  after  "  the  speedy 
absorption "  deplored  by  Father  Shinnors,  are  better 
citizens  and  i^'rctcUse  a  higher  code  of  morality  than  the 
unabsorbed,  stay-at-home  faithful  who  po-ofess  to  helieve 
in  sacerdotal  infallibility  in  Ireland. 

They  have  escaped  the  saurians,  and  they  will  not 
return  to  the  pools.  That  is  why  the  Roman  Catholics 
of  England,  _pac6  their  friends  in  the  House  of  Lords, 
are   either    stationary   or   decreasing,   while   all   other 

^  St.  Peter's  Net,  May  1902. 

^  Irish  Ecdtsiastical  Record,  July  1902,  &c. 


ENGLISH  ROMAN  CATHOLICITY         597 

classes  of  English  citizens  are  growing  in  numbers  and 
in  strength.  Of  the  1,750,000  Roman  Catholics  in 
Great  Britain,  about  100,000  are  English;'  the  rest 
are  poor  Irish  immigrants,  or  their  descendants.  The 
100,000  English  Catholics  constitute  the  "antique" 
seventeenth  part  of  the  body,  and  on  them  is  devolved 
all  the  show  work  for  the  edification  of  the  Protestants, 
while  the  poor  "  deserting  "  Irish  are  asked  to  subscribe 
the  money  and  produce  the  officiating  priests. 

What  a  composite  monster  is  English  Roman  Catho- 
licity, its  bold,  scarlet  head  high  amongst  the  Tories, 
with  the  Article  Club  and  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  its 
body  of  clay  sunk  waist-deep  in  the  Irish  nationalist 
bog,  in  the  untold  misery  of  Catholic  Ireland,  in  the 
prostitution  of  Mecklenburgh  Street  area,  in  the  wife- 
burning  of  Ballyvadlea,  in  all  kinds  and  degrees  of 
2')ost-morUm  savageries,  superstition,  mind-enslavement, 
and  religious  insanity  ' 

At  Durham  Assizes  on  July  14,  1902,  a  poor, 
married  Irishwoman,  "  charged  with  the  murder  of 
her  four-and-a-half  months  old  child,  was  found  guilty, 
but  not  responsible.  During  St.  Patrick's  week  she 
drank  heavily,  but  finally  said  she  would  sign  the 
pledge.  She  got  some  holy  water  from  the  priest  and 
sprinkled  her  kitchen  with  it,  declaring  she  was  chas- 
ing devils  out  of  the  house.  Then  having  prayed  and 
read  a  prayer-book,  she  placed  her  child  upon  the 
hearthrug  and  cut  its  throat." " 

The  bulk  of  the  Protestants  love  the  Catholic  laity, 
as  I  have  said,  and  Ion?  for  their  well-being^,  without 
at  all  wanting  them  to  become  Protestants ;  for  there 
are  no  unmarried  leagues  of  men  and  women  devoted 
to  religious  mystery  and  money-making  amongst  the 
Protestants.      But    there    are    some    professing    Pro- 

1  Mr.  Davitt,  Freeman,  June  1902.  -  Daily  Mail,  July  15,  1902. 


598  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

testants,  not  many,  who  side  with  the  priests  against 
us,  either  through  honest  ignorance,  or  because  the 
priests  are  so  much  the  stronger.  Of  the  latter  species, 
I  regret  to  say,  seems  at  least  one  Irish  Government 
official,  already  alluded  to,  who,  standing  on  the  same 
platform  at  Cork,  and  linked  in  the  same  enterprise 
with  Father  Finlay,  Jesuit,  on  loth  July  1902,  ex- 
pressed a  hope  that  "  there  may  be  before  long  in 
Dublin  another  institution  of  higher  education,  where 
such  movements "  as  his  and  the  Jesuits'  "  would  be 
appreciated  and  supported."  ^ 

Government  should  not  take  further  counsel  on 
such  a  grave  question  from  one  whose  sole  claim  to 
attention  is  that  he  is  a  priests'  mouthpiece.  The 
Government  have  followed  him  far  enough.  He  is 
following  his  leaders,  the  priests,  and  will  lead  it  and 
Ireland  to  certain  destruction.  Yes,  to  destruction. 
For  it  is  a  delusion  to  think  that  triflers  are  the  only 
people  left  in  this  realm,  although  casuistry  and 
quibbling  have  been  so  triumphant  in  the  United 
Kingdom's  politics  for  the  last  ten  years,  A  change 
of  Government,  and,  with  it,  the  disappearance  of  the 
priests  and  their  friends  from  official  life,  would  be 
preferable  to  a  further  devolution  of  power  and  money 
to  the  sacerdotal  organisation. 

Nor  may  the  injustice  be  accomplished  by  bribing 
the  Presbyterians,  unless  I  misunderstand  those  Chris- 
tians !  The  intriguers  have  "  run "  their  last  cargo 
for  the  priests  through  Parliament.  They  will,  God 
willing,  be  under  open  fire  on  their  next  venture — fire 
which,  if  necessary,  will  be  directed  at  the  hulk  of 
Government  itself,  under  whose  bottom  they  cling  and 
feed  like  barnacles. 

It   is   regretfully  I  write   with   apparent   harshness 

1  Freeman,  July  ii,  1902. 


DANGER  AHEAD!  599 

of  any  one,  but  hard  words  break  no  bones ;  and  if  no 
heavier  retribution  fall  upon  the  promoters  of  priestly 
supremacy  in  Ireland  than  a  verbal  castigation,  they 
shall  have  escaped  more  leniently  than  some  of  their 
prototypes  in  other  Catholic  lands. 

I  hope  my  opinion  may  be  wrong ;  but  I  believe 
the  existing  condition  of  things  in  Catholic  Ireland 
resembles  in  many  respects  the  phenomena  which 
immediately  preceded  violent  outbreaks  elsewhere. 

Before  any  Government,  in  compliance  with  the 
priests'  clamour,  proceed  to  take  action  in  a  question 
so  fraught  with  risk  as  the  establishment  of  a  State- 
subsidised  university,  let  them  remember  that  it  is 
bad  statesmanship  to  be,  as  the  Americans  put  it,  "  too 
previous."  I  praised  this  Government  in  Five  Years 
IN  Ireland  for  their  Local  Government  Act  of  1898  and 
the  Land  Act  of  1896,  and  I  gave  them  credit  for  the 
best  intentions  in  reference  to  the  Agriculture  and 
Technical  Instruction  Act  of  1899,  and  I  have  no 
intention  of  receding  from  that  position. 

In  the  case  of  the  two  measures  first  mentioned, 
there  was  a  demand  for  legislation  "  broad  based 
upon  the  people's  will."  But  the  third  measure  was 
empirical,  and  the  demand  for  it  manifestly  factitious, 
being  a  worked-up  expression  of  opinion.  It  was  bad 
statesmanship  to  pass  the  Bill  under  such  circumstances, 
and  it  was  short-sighted  policy  to  entrust  its  adminis- 
tration to  the  priest-serving  coterie  who  had  got  up 
the  agitation. 

It  would  be  infinitely  worse  statesmanship  to  deal 
with  university  education  for  Catholics  upon  an  equally 
factitious  agitation,  got  up  by  the  Irish  priests.  There 
should  be  a  genuine  public  demand,  as  well  as  a 
national  want,  before  such  an  act  should  be  contem- 
plated   in    a    country   with    a    constantly    decreasing 


6oo  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

population.  There  is  no  public  demand.  There  is  no 
national  want.  Every  expression  of  opinion  about  the 
project  is  whipped-up.  Nobody  but  the  priests,  and 
those  who  expect  situations  under  them,  are  in  earnest 
about  it,  on  the  Catholic  side. 

That  may  not  be  the  case  in  ten  years  hence,  when  our 
new  representative  institutions  have  had  time  to  develop. 

If  and  when  the  Catholic  laity  are  in  a  position  to 
formulate  an  unforced,  well-considered,  and  representa- 
tive statement  of  their  requirements  with  regard  to 
secular  university  education,  then,  any  Government  that 
may  happen  to  be  in  power  should  readily  deal  with 
such  a  presentation  of  the  case. 

But  to  legislate  now  would  be  to  comply  with  a 
spurious  clamour,  to  provide  for  a  want  which  does 
not  exist ;  it  would  be,  in  fine,  to  be  "  too  previous." 
Let  the  Irish  priests  be  given  some  time  to  digest  the 
exceptional  pecuniary  meals  they  have  been  getting 
recently,  and  let  us  not  pay  too  much  attention  to 
the  crocodile's  tears. 

The  priest  when  he  deserts  his  true  business — which 
is  ceremonial,  varied  by  the  delivery  of  such  sermons 
as  I  have  quoted — does  not  exhibit  a  degree  of  capacity 
which  justifies  his  pretentiousness.  Take,  for  example, 
a  dictum  from  the  address  reported  to  have  been 
delivered  by  Father  Finlay,  paid  Fellow  of  the  Royal 
University,  in  co-operation  with  the  vice-president  of 
the  department  of  agriculture  and  technical  instruction 
at  Cork  : — 

"  By  industry  he  did  not  mean  the  mere  exertion 
of  physical  strength,  or  the  mere  substitution  of  men's 
strength  for  the  forces  of  nature,  but  an  ordered  control 
of  the  forces  of  nature  and  of  the  labour  which  was 
expended,  not  in  taking  the  place  of  the  beast  of  burden 
— of  that  they  had  had  enough  in  Ireland — the  labour 


LABOUR  WITHOUT  EXERTION  6oi 

which  directs  the  animal  and  material  forces  alike 
for  the  prosperity  of  man,  a  labour  which  substituted 
thought  for  mere  physical  strength,  and  in  which 
method  was  much  more  than  muscle."  ^ 

Does  not  this  seem  like  a  gospel  of  labour  without 
exertion  ;  or  the  principle  of  the  "  crozier  indulgence  " 
applied  to  industry  ?  If  we  take  the  secret  power 
of  the  confessional  away  from  the  "  learned "  priests 
Avho  spin  off  such  mental  cobwebs  by  the  square 
mile,  what  are  they  worth  ?  Possibly  twenty  shillings 
a  Aveek,  without  board.  Scores  of  better  men — poor, 
lay,  Catholic  clerks — do  not  get  more. 

The  priest  is  induced  to  step  outside  his  trade  every 
day,  even  if  he  were  not,  as  he  is,  most  anxious  to  do 
so  of  his  own  accord.  His  influence,  real  and  assumed, 
over  the  submerged  seven-tenths  gives  him  a  peculiar 
position.  Some  years  ago,  when  a  Lord-Lieutenant  was 
about  to  visit  a  nobleman  residing  near  a  Catholic 
town,  the  stipendiary  magistrate  called  upon  the 
Catholic  bank  manager  and  some  leading  traders ;  and 
they  secretly  visited  the  Catholic  bishop,  who,  on  their 
representations,  invited  the  town  commissioners  to  his 
palace,  and  advised  them  to  present  an  address  of 
welcome  to  the  Lord-Lieutenant,  as  "  there  was  some- 
thing to  be  got  by  doing  so."  The  address  was  pre- 
sented ;  and  it  proved  a  profitable  transaction  for  the 
bishop.  But  of  what  value  was  such  an  address  either 
to  the  State  or  its  recipient  ? 

Now,  if  the  submerged  seven-tenths  of  our  people 
could  get  their  heads  permanently  over  water,  the 
priests'  position  in  such  negotiations  would  be  lost.  It 
is  the  noisy  discontent  and  ignorance  of  the  seven- 
tenths  that  are  the  priests'  best  milch-cows.  They  are 
like  the  chronic  debt  on  his  parish  church  or  schools. 

1  Freeman,  July  ii,  1902. 


6o2  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

"  Well,  how  did  you  get  on  in  my  absence  ? "  said  an 
Irish  parish  priest,  just  returned  from  a  holiday,  to  his 
young  curate. 

"  Oh  !  splendidly,"  replied  the  curate  ;  "  the  sermon 
was  largely  attended,  the  collection  was  good,  and  I 
have  paid  off  the  debt  on  the  church." 

"  What !"  roared  the  parish  priest ;  "paid  off  the  debt ! 
Did  you  announce  that  from  the  altar  ? " 
i;  •  "  I  did,  and  I  thanked  the  people  in  your  name," 
said  the  curate, 

"  Oh,  you  fool !  "  said  the  parish  priest ;  "  you  have 
ruined  me  !  I  had  that  debt  as  an  excuse  for  every- 
thing I  wanted  since  I  came  to  the  parish,  and  now 
what'll  I  have  to  fall  back  on  ?  You  must  leave  this 
parish.     I  won't  have  a  fool  like  you  in  my  service." 

Our  children  are  instructed  in  the  schools  to  salute 
the  priest  when  they  meet  him  in  the  street,  for  the 
following  alleged  reason :  "  The  priest  may  be  carrying 
the  Host  to  some  dying  person,"  says  the  Christian 
Brother,  the  Nun,  the  National  Teacher,  or  the  Priest 
himself,  as  the  case  may  be,  addressing  the  school 
children,  "  and  it  is  to  God  Himself,  therefore,  you  show 
respect  when  you  salute  the  priest."  The  salutes  are 
a  very  valuable  asset  in  the  priests'  inventory,  and  they 
impress  the  Protestants ;  but  we  all  know  that  is  how 
they'  are  procured.  The  same  instructions  are  given 
as  to  the  raising  of  hats  when  passing  a  church,  a 
custom  which  deeply  impresses  the  onlookers.  About 
two-tenths  of  the  submerged  seven-tenths,  infant  and 
adults,  systematically  disobey  the  personal  saluting 
order.  The  upper  three-tenths  treat  it  with  scorn, 
and  never  even  contemplate  obedience  to  it. 

The  priests  now  encourage  the  laity  to  bring  the 
remains  of  deceased  relatives  to  the  churches,  where 
they  lie  in  the  interval  between  death  and  interment. 


CHURCHES  AS  MORGUES  603 

The  practice  has  produced  a  new  source  of  revenue,  for 
it  ensures  a  requiem  mass  in  cases  where  one  would 
not  have  been  ordered  under  ordinary  circumstances. 
The  disgraceful  scenes  enacted  at  wakes,  and  which 
the  priests  never  really  exerted  themselves  to  put  a 
stop  to,  supply  the  ostensible  reason  for  converting  the 
parish  churches  into  morgues.  But  the  results  of  the 
practice  are :  firstly,  increased  revenue  for  the  priests ; 
and,  secondly,  to  make  the  insanitary  conditions  under 
which  poor  people  are  crowded  into  the  chapels  on 
Sundays  still  more  dangerous. 

The  "  most  reverend  Dr.  Clancy,"  Government's 
conscience-keeper  and  champion  of  the  God  of  Truth 
against  the  blaspheming  King  of  England,  for  instance, 
places  his  cathedral  at  the  disposal  of  the  people  of  Sligo 
for  that  purpose.  And  on  July  11,  1902,  the  body 
of  a  respectable  Sligo  alderman,  over  whose  remains 
no  disgraceful  wake-scenes  need  have  been  anticipated, 
were  deposited  for  the  night  in  the  Sligo  cathedral. 
About  eleven  o'clock  that  night  "  three  young  men 
were  passing  when  they  heard  some  noise  in  the  chapel 
yard,  and  shortly  afterwards  heard  the  sound  of  break- 
ing glass."  They  raised  an  alarm,  and  allege  that  they 
beheld  "  three  men  "  running  out  of  the  cathedral  yard 
and  disappearing  in  the  darkness.  The  police  came 
upon  the  scene,  and  "  found  the  safe  in  the  chapel 
yard,  and  the  sacristy  window,  through  which  it  had 
apparently  been  removed,  broken.  The  safe  was  in- 
tact, but  a  contribution-box  in  the  sacred  edifice  had 
been  broken  and  rifled."  ^  And  it  is  added  that  "  it 
is  surmised  that  the  perpetrators  of  the  outrage 
secreted  themselves  in  the  cathedral  when  the  remains 

of  the  late  Alderman were  removed  there  in  the 

evening."    To  such  depths  have  we  fallen  ! 

^  Freevuin,  July  14,  1902. 


6o4  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

Many  priests,  as  I  have  said,  are  in  mental  revolt 
against  the  life  to  which  they  find  themselves  com- 
mitted. But  both  they  and  the  nonconformist  laity 
have  the  vitriol  letters.  Don't  cease  to  be  a  Catholic, 
stamped  in  their  hearts,  and  they  pass  through  life 
in  outward  compliance  with  rules  and  practices  in 
which  they  do  not  believe. 

The  Father  Superior  or  Rector  of  a  Dublin  friary, 
one  of  those  described  in  an  earlier  chapter,  quite 
recently  left  the  institution  and  discarded  the  pro- 
fession. He  was  a  middle-aged  man,  and  I  knew 
him  by  appearance.  His  defection  is  known  in  some 
Catholic  circles  in  Dublin ;  but,  like  everything  of  the 
kind,  it  is  hushed  up,  "  to  avoid  scandal,"  as  the  priests 
put  it.  It  is  doubtful  if  the  poor  priest  himself  will 
ever  have  the  courage  to  acknowledge  what  he  has 
done.  At  Athlone,  in  the  year  1887,  a  well-known 
incident  occurred,  of  which  the  particulars  were, 
however,  allowed  to  divulge.  A  young  priest  of  St. 
Peter's  parish  in  that  town  had,  after  long  considera- 
tion, determined  to  leave  the  Church,  but,  he  tells  us, 
"  I  knew  that  my  parents  would  prefer  to  see  me  dead 
rather  than  that  I  should  turn  my  back  on  the  priest- 
hood." ^  He  rowed  out  alone  on  the  river  Shannon, 
taking  with  him  a  suit  of  layman's  clothes  in  a  Glad- 
stone bag.  Having  secreted  the  bag  in  a  lonely  spot 
near  the  river's  edge  he  pulled  out  into  mid-stream, 
took  otf  his  priest's  clothes,  left  them  in  the  boat,  and 
swam  ashore,  where  he  attired  himself  in  the  secular 
suit,  and  ran  away.  The  drifting  boat,  containing  his 
priest's  clothes,  was  found ;  and  his  death  thus  dis- 
covered, was  bewailed  all  over  the  county.  His 
praises  were  for  a  while  on  every  lip.  He  is  now  a 
Protestant  clergyman ;  his  brother  and  sister  have  also 
»  "  Hear  the  Other  Side,"  by  the  Rev,  T.  Connellan,  Dublin,  1889. 


PRIESTS'  DESERTIONS  605 

left  tlie  Church  with  him ;  and  no  language  is  too  vile, 
no  imputations  on  his  character  too  low,  for  sacerdotal 
use  in  reference  to  him. 

People,  clerical  as  well  as  lay,  in  free  lands  like 
England  or  the  States,  change  their  religious  creed  or 
place  of  worship  whenever  conscientious  reasons  impel 
them  to  do  so,  and  nobody  dreams  of  persecuting  or 
hounding  them  down  or  imputing  evil  motives  to  them 
for  so  doing.  In  Ireland,  as  my  illustrations  prove,  it 
is  different ;  and  the  Catholic  who  dares  to  leave  the 
religion  is  denounced  more  mercilessly  by  the  priests 
than  Luther,  Zwint^le,  and  other  reformers.  If  the 
priests  gained  information  beforehand  that  one  of  their 
number  contemplated  such  a  pubhc  change  of  religion, 
I  dare  not  say  to  what  lengths  I  believe  they  would  go 
in  order  to  prevent  the  apostasy. 

Such,  then,  is  the  Irish  priest.  My  sketch  of  him 
is  but  an  outline,  an  incentive  to  study  rather  than 
a  study. 

If  my  words  could  reach  them,  I  should  appeal  to 
British  statesmen  of  all  politics — and,  in  particular,  to 
the  new  prime  minister,  Mr.  A.  J.  Balfour — to  view 
with  suspicion  any  proposals,  no  matter  under  what 
specious  pleas  they  may  be  advanced,  of  which  the 
tendency  and  result  will  be  to  enhance  the  power 
or  increase  the  wealth  of  the  already  over-endowed 
and  over -grown  sacerdotal  organisation  in  Roman 
Catholic  Ireland. 


CHAPTER   XXXI 

IS    CHRIST    RESPONSIBLE? 

The  ricli  and  powerful  sacerdotal  organisation  whose 
woe-begetting  policy  I  have  been  inadequately  en- 
deavouring to  describe  in  the  foregoing  pages  is 
alleged  to  be  necessary  for  the  appeasement  and 
glorification  of  the  everlasting  triune  God,  whom 
the  vast  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  United 
Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  adore.  The 
incarnation  of  God  the  Son ;  His  life,  example,  and 
teaching;  His  death  on  the  cross  after  having  under- 
gone the  direst  human  agony — were  all  insufficient, 
unless  followed  up  in  perpctuo  by  the  maintenance 
of  the  unmarried  Priest  in  Power  in  Ireland.  The 
priests'  organisation,  we  are  told,  consummates  what 
would  have  been  the  otherwise  ineffectual  sacrifice 
of  Calvary. 

Now,  if  the  priests  preached  Christ  Crucified  to 
us,  and  if  they  practised  the  teaching  of  Christ  and 
imitated  His  acts,  and  thereby  made  us  a  Christlike 
or  truly  Christian  people,  I  could  understand  how 
their  organisation,  working  unitedly  towards  that 
end,  might  be  truthfully  described  as  perpetuating, 
though  it  could  not  be  said  to  be  consummating, 
the  redemption  of  mankind ;  for  that  was  in  itself 
a  perfect  work. 

He  said,  "  It  is  finished :  and  He  bowed  His  head  and 

gave  up  the  ghost." 

606 


Photographische  GeaeUschaJt, 


Berlin. 


"How  freciuently,  when  gazing  upon  some  noble  conception  of 
Christ's  agony  at  (iethseiiiaiie,  have  I  not  askeii  myself,  thinking 
of  Catholic  Ireland,  whether  the  chaUte  of  His  trouble  consisted, 
not,  as  we  are  taught,  in  the  physical  torture  <if  His  approaching 
crucifixion,  but  in  a  prevision  of  the  dreadful  wrongs  which 
should  afterwards  be  inflicted  upon  humanity  under  cover  of  His 
authority  ? " 


CHRIST  FORGOTTEN  607 

But  our  priests  preach  anything  and  everything 
rather  than  Christ  Crucified ;  and,  while  they  are 
prepared  to  ascribe  the  most  extraordinary  powers 
to  people  like  Anthony  of  Padua,  Peter  of  Alcantara, 
Expedit,  Blaise,  Blessed  Gerard  of  Clonard  Gardens, 
Belfast,  and  to  themselves,  and  even  to  the  Holy 
Souls,  they  deny,  in  practice,  all  efficacy  and  saving 
grace  to  the  sacrifice  of  the  incarnate  God  the  Son 
in  whom  they  verbally  profess  to  believe. 

How  frequently,  when  gazing  upon  some  noble  con- 
ception of  Christ's  agony  at  Gethsemane,  have  I  not 
asked  myself,  thinking  of  Catholic  Ireland,  whether 
the  chalice  of  His  trouble  consisted,  not,  as  we  are 
taught,  in  the  physical  torture  of  His  approaching 
crucifixion,  but  in  a  prevision  of  the  dreadful  wrongs 
which  should  be  afterwards  inflicted  upon  humanity 
under  cover  of  His  authority ! 

The  priests'  organisation  is  the  reverse  of  all  that 
is  Christlike,  humble,  forgiving,  and  poor.  If  we 
follow  the  example  of  our  priests,  our  characters  will 
not  be  ennobled,  our  minds  will  not  be  clarified,  our 
spirits  will  not  be  raised  up  in  hopeful  confidence 
towards  our  Father  who  is  in  heaven,  that  great 
Spirit  of  Perfection  to  Whom  all  human  virtue  is  akin, 
and  to  meet  Whom,  beyond  the  grave,  we  are  travel- 
ling laboriously  through  this  corporal  life. 

The  condition  of  our  poor,  priest-oppressed  people, 
bowed  down  in  sorrow  with  the  weight  of  ignorance 
and  trouble,  proves  that  ours  is  not  the  inheritance 
of  the  believing  and  happy  Christian.  The  descend- 
ing scale  of  our  morality ;  the  decay  of  our  courage 
and  industry ;  the  diminution  of  our  population ;  the 
national  disregard  for  truth ;  the  maintenance  and 
increase  of  the  spirit  of  savage  uncharitableness  and 
envy  amongst  us ;  and  the  almost  total  disappearance 


6o8  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

of  counsels  of  brotherly  love — all  these  portents  prove 
that,  in  company  with  our  priests,  we  are  not  walking 
along  the  path  trodden  by  our  Redeemer,  Christ. 

"  Then  said  Jesus  unto  His  disciples,  If  any  man 
will  come  after  Me,  let  him  deny  himself  and  take  up 
his  cross  and  follow  Me." 

Our  priests  and  nuns  take  up  the  cross — their 
simulacrum  of  a  cross — and  place  it,  not  like  a 
burden  of  Christian  responsibility,  upon  their  shoul- 
ders, or  as  a  spiritual  light  in  their  hearts;  but  they 
erect  it  over  their  hall  doors,  in  the  fanlights  of 
recently-purchased  noblemen's  mansions,  on  their  gold 
watch-chains,  on  the  piers  of  their  palace  gates,  and 
on  the  top  of  the  heaven-affronting  new  steeple  at 
Maynooth,  275  feet  high,  which,  dominating  unhappy 
Ireland, 

"  Lifts  its  tall  head,  and,  like  a  bully,  lies." 

They  paint  His  agony  in  pictures  and  hang  them  on 
their  chapel  walls.  They  descant  grossly  about  His 
Sacred  Heart  and  His  Holy  Face,  and  practise  every 
species  of  low  familiarity  towards  Him  most  calcu- 
lated to  earn  His  contempt.  They  select  from  the 
scant  but  suflBcient  records  of  His  life  whatever  is 
least  practical  and  least  useful  to  humanity ;  they 
adulterate  it  with  a  mass  of  fables  of  their  own  inven- 
tion, and  they  dignify  the  amalgam  with  the  appella- 
tion of  THE  Faith.  And,  pressing  a  blunderbuss 
against  the  temples  of  their  lay  brethren,  they  compel 
them  to  accept  that  amalgam  implicitly,  and  threaten 
them  that  if  they  do  not  so  accept  it,  they  shall  receive 
the  dreadful  sentence,  "  Depart  from  Me,  ye  cursed, 
into  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his 
angels." 

Their  blunderbuss  is  an  effete  weapon,  and  has  no 


OUR  NEGLECTED  POOR  609 

terror  for  many  of  us  alive  to-day ;  but  it  still  terrifies 
millions  of  our  brethren,  ruins  their  minds,  and  spoils 
existence  for  them.  It  is  about  our  poorer  brethren 
that  we,  who  do  not  fear  the  priests  ourselves,  are 
anxious  to-day.  We  have  too  long  committed  our 
poor  brothers  to  the  custody  of  those  unjust  sacerdotal 
stewards,  those  "  experts  "  in  religion,  who  monopolise 
all  our  Catholic  charities  for  their  own  profit. 

Having  a  keen  sense  of  my  own  shortcomings,  I 
should  not  dare  to  judge  any  human  being,  even  a 
priest.  But  I  cannot  help  remembering  that  the 
dreadful  sentence  with  which  we  are  threatened  if  we 
doubt  the  infallibility  of  the  priest,  and  refuse  to  stifle 
the  faculty  of  reason  implanted  in  us  by  God  for  His 
own  good  ends,  was  decreed,  not  to  unbelievers  in  any 
particular  code  of  religious  law,  but  was  denounced 
against  non-practisers  of  Christ's  simple  teaching. 

After  the  sentence,  we  are  told  He  shall  say  also  to 
them  on  the  left  hand  :  "  For  I  was  an  hunsfered,  and 
ye  gave  Me  no  meat ;  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  Me 
no  drink ;  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  Me  not  in ; 
naked,  and  ye  clothed  Me  not ;  sick  and  in  prison,  and 
ye  visited  Me  not." 

Picture  to  yourself  the  condition  of  the  poor  Catholic 
men,  women,  and  children  of  Ireland — the  tens  of 
thousands  of  them  in  the  Catholic  quarters  of  Dublin, 
in  the  swamps  of  Connaught,  in  the  morasses  of 
Munster — into  whose  minds  the  light  of  truth  may 
never  enter,  and  remember  that  we,  better-class 
Catholics,  have  been  coerced  by  the  priests  into  dele- 
gating all  responsibility  for  our  poor  brothers  and 
sisters  to  the  priests'  organisation  in  Ireland. 

Upon  the  rich  priests,  with  their  sham  crosses,  and 
upon  them  alone,  therefore,  rests  all  responsibility  for 
the  condition  of  the  Irish  Roman  Catholic  poor,  whose 

2Q 


6io  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

helpless  and  contentious  misery  in  the  midst  of  peace 
and  plenty  is  discussed  and  wondered  at  all  over  the 
world. 

Catholic  Ireland,  instead  of  having  been  saved  by 
the  sublime  sacrifice  of  Calvary,  is  writhing  in  misery 
and  involved  in  as  much  religious  doubt  and  per- 
plexity as  if  Jesus  had  never  died  for  humanity. 
The  many  grand  pictorial  representations  of  His 
death,  instead  of  testifying  that  He  died  for  us,  and 
thereby  lightening  our  mental  burdens,  only  seem  to 
increase  our  trouble  and  make  life  more  difficult  for 
us. 

To  whom,  then,  will  the  Son  of  Man,  seated  upon 
the  throne  of  His  glory,  make  answer,  saying :  "  Verily, 
I  say  unto  you,  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  not  to  one  of 
the  least  of  these,  ye  did  it  not  to  Me  ? " 

Shall  the  Son  of  Man,  think  you,  consider  the  privi- 
lege which  the  condescending  Irish  priests  concede 
to  Him,  of  "  meekly  resting  on  our  altars  within  the 
little  chalice  or  the  cold  ciborium,"  sufficient  to 
exonerate  the  guilty  pastors  who  are  responsible  for 
the  mental  and  physical  destitution  of  His  "  little 
ones  "  in  Ireland  ? 

"  Let  them  begin  at  New  York,"  exclaims  Mr. 
Michael  Davitt,  eager  for  the  suppression  of  land- 
lordism as  the  cause  of  all  Irish  misery,  "  and  in  the 
large  cities  of  America,  by  investigating  how  many 
unfortunate  young  girls,  driven  from  Irish  homes  to 
seek  a  livelihood  across  the  water,  found  their  way  in 
the  end  to  a  life  of  shame."  ^ 

Let  them  begin  at  Mecklenburgh  Street  area  in 
the  capital  of  Ireland,  and  at  the  nun-managed 
Magdalen  Asylums  of  Ireland,  I  say,  and  let  them 
inquire  how  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  these  reserva- 

'  Freeman,  July  15,  1902. 


Kehhr  pinxit. 


"Catholic  Ireland,  instead  of  having  been  saved  by  the 
sublime  sacrifice  of  Calvary,  is  writhinp  in  misery  and  in- 
volved in  as  much  religious  doubt  and  perplexity  as  if  Jesus 
had  never  died  for  humanity.  The  many  grand  pictorial 
representations  of  His  death,  instead  of  testifying  that  He 
died  FOR  us,  and  thereby  lightening  our  mentiil  burdens, 
only  seem  to  increase  our  troubles  and  make  life  more 
difficult  for  us  1 " 


ONLY  HARM   IN  LEGISLATION         6ii 

tions  owe  their  fall  to  landlordism,  and  how  many  owe 
it  to  the  enervation  of  mind  and  character,  the  help- 
less laziness,  the  superstition,  and  the  ignorance  of 
Christian  principles  in  which  they  were  brought  up 
by  the  Irish  priests  and  nuns.  Legislation  can  effect 
little  more  useful  purpose  in  these  realms ;  and  the 
power  of  the  M.P.  is  waning  because  the  public  are 
beginning  to  discover  the  fact.  Their  "  legislative 
harvests "  nowadays  are  but  "  bundles  of  tares."  If, 
for  instance,  all  the  tenant-farmers  of  Ireland  were 
converted  into  occupying  owners  by  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment, would  not  all  the  evil-breeding  influences — 
against  which  I  protest,  but  which  Mr.  Davitt's 
friends  condone  or  abet — still  flourish  in  full  play  in 
our  midst,  and  would  they  not  still  remain  to  be 
grappled  with  ?  Of  what  avail  to  make  the  Irish 
citizen  owner  of  his  farm  by  legislation,  when  he  may 
not  be  owner  of  his  own  mind  ?  Under  such  circum- 
stances a  man  cannot  be  said  to  be  the  real  owner 
of  anything.  Do  not  the  facts  with  reference  to  the 
disposition  of  his  property,  prove  that  the  Irish 
Catholic  citizen  is  not  the  real  owner  of  anything  that 
he  possesses  ?  When  we  have  succeeded  in  setting 
free  the  minds  of  our  poorer  brethren,  and  in  directing 
their  mental  energies  into  the  proper  channels  in 
youth,  then  we  shall  have  insured  to  them  the 
peaceful  possession  of  everything  worth  having  in 
this  life.  No  act  of  parliament  can  achieve  that, 
though  legislation  which  is  passed  at  the  behest  of 
the  priests,  and  in  their  interests,  may  delay  and  even 
prevent  the  accomplishment  of  that  greatest  of  all 
good  things. 

Our  general  morality  is  deteriorating  as  well  as 
our  sexual  morals,  while  we  thus  continue  to  stray 
farther  and  farther  away  from  the  simple  virtues  of 


6i2  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

Christ.  We  make  a  meaner  display  before  the  world 
now  than  at  any  anterior  period  of  our  history. 
Consider,  for  instance,  the  Young  Ireland  and  the 
'Forty-eight  movements  and  the  many  men  of  high 
intelligence  connected  with  them,  their  lofty  aspira- 
tions, their  liberal  ideas,  their  literature,  and  the 
brotherhood  of  Protestant  with  Catholic  which  char- 
acterised that  period.  At  that  comparatively  recent 
date  Ireland  was  in  touch  with  European  Liberalism, 
and  her  little  wrist-pulse  beat  in  time  to  the  heart- 
throbs of  the  Continent. 

The  priest,  emancipated  by  Daniel  O'Connell,  then 
came  forth  and  spread  himself  over  the  land  : 

"  in  bulk  as  huge, 
As  whom  the  fables  name  of  monstrous  size," 

and  began  his  work  of  capturing  the  minds  of  our 
people,  enlisting  them  not  in  the  service  of  Christ, 
but  enslaving  them  under  his  own  barren  and  un- 
christian rule. 

Twenty  years  elapsed  ;  and  the  pent-up  feeling  of 
Catholic  Ireland,  the  priests'  Ireland,  found  vent  in 
the  rising  of  'Sixty-seven  !  What  a  drop  there  was 
from  the  intelligence  of  the  thinking  men  of  the 
'forties  to  the  unintelligent,  unmemorable  "^efforts  of 
the  men  of  'Sixty-seven  !  But,  oh,  how  the  priest  had 
grown  in  Ireland  in  the  interval  between  the  'forties 
and  the  'sixties ! 

Fifteen  or  twenty  years  again  elapsed ;  and  the 
period  of  the  Invincible  conspiracy  and  the  dynamite 
outrages  arrived,  proving  how  we  had  been  withering, 
how  we  had  been  losing,  as  a  whole,  in  nobility,  in 
character,  in  straightforwardness,  in  width  of  view. 
And,  again,  in  that  interval  between  the  'sixties  and 
the  'eighties,  the  priests  had  been  growing  incessantly ! 


ON  THE  DOWNWARD  GRADE  613 

All  the  mental  and  physical  energies  of  the  dwindling 
remnant  of  our  people  were  being  sucked  up  by  the 
swollen  leeches  of  sacerdotalism ;  Christ  was  more 
utterly  forgotten,  perhaps,  than  at  any  previous  stage 
of  our  history,  and  we  had  wandered  farther  than  ever 
from  the  ways  of  simple  industry  and  virtue. 

Behold  us  to-day,  twenty  years  after,  at  the  opening 
of  the  twentieth  century.  Our  parhamentary  repre- 
sentation is  numerous  enough  to  give  us  an  over- 
whelming voice,  out  of  all  proportion  to  our  numbers, 
in  the  management  of  the  affairs  of  the  prosperous 
empire  to  which  we  belong.  But,  have  we  any  real 
weight  m  Parliament  ?  Are  our  members,  represent- 
ing, as  they  do,  the  priest-educated  intelligence  of 
Ireland,  respected  or  powerful  ?  On  the  contrary, 
may  it  not  be  safely  said  of  them,  without  any  un- 
charity  or  any  reflection  on  their  personal  characters, 
or  any  fear  of  genuine  contradiction  from  any  reput- 
able quarter,  that  they  stand  for  the  lowest  water- 
mark of  intellect  and  capacity  ever  recorded  by  the 
public  men  of  Ireland  in  the  councils  of  the  nation  ? 
Where  are  our  orators  ?  Where  are  our  men  of  un- 
derstanding and  wisdom  ?  Where  are  our  statesmen  ? 
Where  are  even  our  men  of  common-sense  ?  May  not 
our  critics  truthfully  say  of  our  representatives,  judg- 
ing them  by  their  acts :  It  is  as  sport  to  a  fool  to  do 
mischief?  May  it  not  be  said  of  our  Irish  party, 
appraising  it  by  its  utterances,  that  its  moidh  is  its 
destruction  ? 

There  is  no  phase  of  sacerdotal  policy  at  home  or 
abroad  which  is  not  misinterpreted  for  our  poor  people. 
I  cannot  exaggerate  the  intensity  of  my  despair 
when  I  think  of  how  even  the  domgs  of  the  Friars  in 
the  Phihppine  Islands  are  represented :  "  They  have 
established  Christianity  and  introduced  law  and  order," 


6i4  PRIESTS  AND  PEOPLE 

writes  an  important  Dublin  newspaper/  referring  to 
the  Spanish  friars  ! 

Alas,  if  Christianity  and  law  and  order  can  be  said 
to  exist  in,  for  instance,  the  Mecklenburgh  Street  area 
of  Dublin,  with  its  population  of  20,000  souls,  and 
throughout  poor.  Catholic  Ireland  at  this  moment ; 
then,  assuredly,  it  does  not  lie  with  us.  Catholic  Irish, 
to  deny  those  blessings  to  the  wretched  Filipinos.  That, 
I  suppose,  is  our  position.  Th&y  are  our  equals  in 
morality.  They  have  been  priest-ruled  as  well  as  the 
Irish.      We  can  no  longer  look  down  upon  them. 

The  American  Government  requested  the  Pope, 
properly  saddling  him  with  his  responsibility,  as 
superior  officer  of  the  wicked  friars,  to  command 
them  to  withdraw  from  the  islands.  The  Pope  could 
not  see  his  way ;  and  the  Christian  Government  of 
America  is  now  proceeding  to  eject  the  sinful  monks 
without  assistance  from  our  spiritual  master  in  Rome. 
The  unhappy  islands,  under  ecclesiastical  rule,  were  a 
cesspool  of  iniquity,  as  the  world  knows,  in  which  the 
priests  themselves  were  the  leaders  and  chief  partici- 
pators.^ 

As  "  blasphemy  "  seems  a  popular  topic  of  discussion 
in  Ireland  at  the  moment,  especially  in  the  sacerdotal 
press,  let  me  say  that  I  cannot  conceive  a  worse  blas- 
phemy than  that  of  holding  Christ  and  Christianity 
responsible,  either  for  the  miseries  of  the  priest-ruled 
Philippines,  or  for  the  mental  and  physical  destitu- 
tion of  the  poor  in  priest-governed,  Roman  Catholic 
Ireland. 

Would  that,  before  I  close  this  treatise,  I  could 
discover  some  substantial  redeeming  point  in  the 
working   of   the   priests'   organisation    upon  which    I 

'  Freeman,  July  i8,  1902. 

2  U.S.A.  State  Paper  on  the  Philippines,  1901. 


TEMPERANCE  615 

might  dwell  tor  the  honour  of  my  countrymen.  If 
they  were  poor,  like  our  people,  it  would  be  to  their 
credit ;  if  they  were  simple  in  their  habits,  sparing 
in  their  diet,  humble  in  their  prosperity,  how  gladly 
should  I  record  it  for  their  sakes  ! 

A  foreigner,  residing  in  Ireland,  and  owner  of  a 
hotel,  recently  said,  with  a  shrug  of  his  shoulders,  to 
a  Protestant  gentleman :  "  Oh,  your  clergy,  your  Pro- 
testant clergy,  they  are  so  poor,  they  are  so  poor ! 
They  have  no  money.  They  come  in  and  they  ask 
for  a  bottle  of  ginger-beer,  or  a  cup  of  tea,  or  a  few 
biscuits  for  the  little  ones,  and  they  put  a  few  coppers 
or  a  sixpence  on  the  counter.  Bah  !  They  are  no 
good.  But  the  priests ;  ah,  the  priests,  they  are  rich, 
they  have  plenty  money,  they  are  good  for  me!  They 
come  in  and  have  the  best,  always  the  best,  whisky-soda, 
brandy-seltzer,  or  champagne.  Oh,  they  buy  cases  of 
champagne  fi-om  me,  at  a  hundred-and-twenty  shillings 
the  dozen  !  They  ask  me  to  dine  with  them.  I  go. 
I  am  politic.  I  please  my  customers.  I  dine  with 
the  priests,  and  I  get  the  best,  the  very  best  of  every- 
thing ;  no  expense  is  spared  by  the  priests.  But 
your  clergy,  your  Protestant  clergy,  and  their  wives 
and  their  little  ones,  ah,  they  are  no  good,  no  good 
for  me  ! " 

The  priests  write  fulsome  theses  upon  temperance ; 
but  do  they  "  deny  themselves  "  ?  Their  annual  pastorals, 
in  which  they  laboriously  depict  the  vices  of  the  laity, 
to  the  astonishment  of  our  Protestant  fellow-Christians, 
are  as  hollow  and  meaningless  as  the  pictures  on  their 
chapel  walls,  or  the  crosses  on  their  watch-chains. 
They  are  like  the  epistles  of  Micawber — never  fol- 
lowed up  in  practice,  and  recoil  upon  themselves  to 
their  own  disgrace  as  the  infalHble  mentors  of  their 
flocks.     A  monsignor  reads  an  essay  at  Maynooth  on 


6i6  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

the  Drink  Bill  of  Ireland.  Let  me  tell  bim  that  the 
sacerdotal  organisations  in  Ireland  are  the  largest 
contributors  to  that  excessive  national  account.  It 
is  unnecessary  for  me  to  say  more  on  such  a  topic. 
Every  man  and  woman  in  Catholic  Ireland  knows  the 
strength  and  truth  of  my  statement.  The  priests  call 
for  legislation  and  think  they  have  done  their  duty. 
They  administer  formal  pledges  and  stop  at  that.  They 
raise  a  dust  about  a  pettifogging  Act  of  Parliament  to 
stop  the  granting  of  new  publicans'  hcences  in  Ireland 
for  five  years.  Their  friends  and  relatives,  the  licensees, 
are  with  them  heart  and  soul  in  that  project  which 
tends  to  increase  the  value  of  their  property  and  not 
to  diminish  the  consumption  of  drink.  But,  Mr. 
John  Fitzgibbon  of  Castlerea,  from  his  cell  in  Sligo 
jail,  where  he  has  time  to  ruminate  upon  the  woes 
of  Ireland,  forgets  the  De  Freyne  estate,  speaks  of 
the  temperance  question  as  "  the  subject  next  his 
heart,"  and  asks  the  following  pertinent  question : 
"  On  whom,  then,  rests  the  responsibility  of  bringing 
about  the  desired  reform  ?  Will  legislation  accom- 
plish it,  or  even  mitigate  the  evil  ?  I  fear  not." 
And  he  goes  on  plaintively :  '"  There  is,  in  my  opinion, 
no  half-way  house  in  the  matter  of  temperance. 
Habitual  venial  sins  lead  to  mortal  sins.  The  Church, 
be  it  Roman  Catholic,  Protestant,  or  any  other,  should 
be  the  great  moving  power;  hut,  to  be  effectual,  the 
bishop  of  the  Church  should  set  the  example  of  total 
abstinence  to  his  priests  or  ministers,  the  priests  or 
ministers  to  their  flocks" 

Castlerea,  where  Mr.  Fitzgibbon  lives,  is  in  the 
diocese  of  Bishop  Clancy,  whose  co-operation  in  so 
laudable  a  work  can,  no  doubt,  be  readily  secured,  as 
leading  member  of  the  technical  instruction  board  for 
Connaught.      Let    us    hope    that    the    words    of   Mr. 


ROMAN   EXPORTS   AND   IMPORTS       617 

Fitzgibbon,  written  in  jail,  may  reach  the  ears  of 
Bishop  Clancy,  in  his  palace ;  and  that  a  new  tem- 
perance crusade  may  be  preached  in  which,  to  use  Mr. 
Fitzgibbon's  words,  "  the  crusaders  must  be  men  that 
will  preach  by  example." ' 

I  calculate  that  the  Peter's  Pence  contribution 
sent  to  Rome  by  the  priests'  organisation  in  Ireland 
amounts  to  i^3 0,000  per  annum.  Kerry,  an  out-of- 
the-way  diocese,  as  we  have  seen,  subscribes  i^iooo  ; 
Dublin,  as  wo  may  see  from  the  newspapers,  sends  off 
about  i^2000;  so  that  for  the  twenty-eight  dioceses, 
;^30,ooo  per  annum  is  a  reasonable  estimate.  But 
the  Peter's  Pence  is  only  a  fraction  of  the  money 
which  the  priests  of  Ireland  take  from  the  Irish  people 
for  the  enrichment  of  the  disloyal  party  in  Italy. 
Fees,  donations,  gifts,  remittances  on  countless  pretexts 
are  continually  on  their  way  from  Ireland  to  Rome. 
But  nothing  ever  finds  its  way  thence  back  to  Ireland, 
except,  perhaps,  some  unfortunate  boy,  "  ice-cream 
vendor  and  native  of  Rome,"  to  be  charged  in  the 
Dublin  Police  Court  "  with  attempting  to  steal  money 
from  the  donation  boxes  in  High  Street  Catholic 
Church,"  and  with  attempting  to  commit  suicide  by 
endeavouring  to  hang  himself  in  the  prison  cell.^ 

For  all  this  disheartening  and  lamentable  condition 
of  things,  we,  Catholic  layfolk,  cannot  bo  held  justl}^ 
responsible.  We  are  without  authority  in  our  Church 
— a  position  of  things  which  our  brother-Christians  in 
the  Church  of  Ireland,  Presbyterian,  Methodist,  and 
other  Churches — find  it  difficult  to  understand.  How 
different  seems  to  be  the  trend  of  thought  amongst  our 
Protestant  brethren  everywhere !  Even  in  England, 
where   the    Church    is    by    law    established,  and    the 

^    Westmeath  Independent,  June  21.  1902. 
a  Freeman's  Journal,  February  10,  1902. 


6i8  PRIESTS  AND   PEOPLE 

salaries  of  its  ministers  secured^ upon  ample  proper- 
ties, we  find  one  of  the  Anglican  bishops,  on  the 
29th  of  April  1902,  presenting  to  the  Upper  House 
of  the  Convocation  of  Canterbury  a  joint  committee's 
report  "  on  the  position  of  the  laity  in  the  early 
Church."  In  doing  so,  Bishop  Wordsworth  of  Salis- 
bury said :  ^  "  We  have  come  to  the  conclusion,  as  our 
forefathers  have  done,  that  laymen  have  a  true  posi- 
tion in  the  coimcils  of  the  Church.  I  believe  that  the 
Church,  as  a  body,  is  a  true  representation  of  Christ  on 
earth,  not  the  clerical  order  alone."  And  the  report 
was  followed  by  this  resolution :  "  That  it  is  desirable 
that  a  National  Council  should  be  formed  fully 
representing  the  clergy  and  laity  of  the  Church  of 
England." 

In  the  direction  indicated  by  that  resolution  lies  the 
one  well-grounded  hope  for  the  immediate  improve- 
ment of  Catholic  Ireland. 

There  are  hundreds  of  thousands  of  good,  God- 
fearing, industrious  men  and  women,  Roman  Catholic 
as  well  as  protestant  Catholic,  scattered  up  and  down 
through  this  kingdom  of  Ireland,  "believing  that 
through  the  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  they  shall 
be  saved."  They  are  not  priests ;  they  are  not  mem- 
bers of  parliament.  Their  presence  and  actions 
illumine  the  face  of  the  country  and  brighten  the 
streets  of  our  cities  and  towns  ;  so  much  so  that  the 
eyes  of  few  of  the  many  strangers  passing  through 
our  beautiful  island  can  pierce  into  the  darkness  and 
see  our  real  misery. 

Can  those  men  and  women  not  achieve  something 
for  their  country  to  arrest  its  swift  descent  upon  the 
glissade  which  leads  sheer  down  to  the  morass  from 

1  Guardian. 


PEACE   FOR   IRELAND  619 

which    the    American   nation   is    now  laboriously   ex- 
tracting the  Cubans  and  Filipinos  ? 

Oh,  that  we  could  put  an  end  to  the  exclusive 
ownership  and  monopoly  in  Christ  which  the  priests 
so  unjustifiably  claim  for  themselves,  and  upon  which 
they  trade  so  grossly  !  Oh,  that  we  could  secure  for 
the  laity  a  community  of  interest  and  authority  with 
the  priests  in  the  administration  of  Christ's  Church  in 
Ireland  !  If  we  could  truly  say  of  the  Irish  Roman 
Catholics  as  all  the  protcstant  Catholics  can  say  of 
themselves :  "  All  that  believed  were  together  and  had 
all  things  common,"  even  to  the  possession  of  Christ 
and  His  word ;  then,  beyond  all  doubt,  Ireland  should 
at  length  know  peace,  and  possess  the  tranquil  courage 
which  constitutes  His  legacy  to  man :  "  Peace  I  leave 
with  you,  My  peace  I  give  unto  you ;  not  as  the  world 
giveth,  give  I  unto  you.  Let  not  your  heart  be 
troubled,  neither  let  it  be  afraid." 


NOTES 


Page  29 — "  I  believe  that  if  Patrick  lived  to-day,  he 
would  raise  up  the  peasants  of  Ireland,"  &c.  St.  Patrick's 
words  prove  to  us  that  he  did  not  sell  his  ministrations 
as  our  priests  do  to-day.  In  Stokes  and  Wright's 
edition  of  St.  Patrick's  writings,  the  reader  will  find  at 
chapter  iv.,  section  22,  of  the  Confession,  the  following 
remarkable  utterance  of  Patrick : — "  But,  perhaps,  since 
I  baptized  so  many  thousand  men,  I  may  have  accepted 
half  a  screpall  (threepence)  from  some  of  them  ?  Tell 
it  to  me,  and  I  will  restore  it  to  you.  Or  when  the 
Lord  ordained  everywhere  clergy,  through  my  humble 
ministry,  I  dispensed  the  rite  gratuitousl}'.  If  I  asked 
of  any  of  them  even  the  price  of  my  shoe,  tell  it  against 
me  and  I  will  restore  you  more." 

Page  41 — "Our  Church  often  boasts  that  it  is  the 
Church  of  the  Poor,"  &c.  Archbishop  Fennelly  of 
Cashel,  speaking  at  Callan  on  September  28,  1902,  is 
reported  to  have  said:  "The  toilmg  man,  striving  to 
acquire  a  competency,  has  an  intense  love  for  the  priests 
of  God,  while  those  who  acquire  prosperity  seem  to  lose 
that  intense  aflection.  Speaking  here  before  a  good 
many  priests,  I  say  that  we,  as  priests  and  bishops, 
though  we  desire  to  do  our  best  to  promote  the  pros- 
perity of  our  people,  have  no  selfish  interests  in  doing 
so,  for  I  have  remarked  during  the  whole  of  my  mission- 
ary career,  that  the  hand  of  the  toiling  man  is  always 
open  to  the  needs  and  wants  of  the  priests,  while  pros- 
perity seems,  to  a  certain  extent,  to  close  it." — Freeman, 
September  29,  1902.  I  am  convinced  that  it  is  their 
own  selfish  interests  that  the  priests  pursue ;  and  that 
they  do  not  desire  the  real  prosperity  of  the  people. 


NOTES  621 

Page  50 — "drawing  £1200  a  year  from  a  Protestant 
endowment,"  &c.  The  actual  receipts  of  the  Monaghan 
Ecclesiastical  School,  under  the  Scheme,  in  the  year 
ended  December  31,  1899,  amounted  to  ;^ii2i,  9s.  lod. 
— Education  (Ireland)  1 900 ;  Report  of  Commissioners. 

Page  86 — "  Everywhere  in  Tyrone  .  .  .  our  people 
.  .  .  expend  themselves  in  glorifying  the  priesthood," 
&c.  Miss  Ellen  Boyle  of  Omagh,  writing  in  The  Derry 
Journal  of  September  29,  1902,  says  that  a  priest  at 
Omagh,  commenting,  in  a  sermon,  on  the  smallness  of 
the  collection,  attributed  it  "  to  the  unexpected  depar- 
ture from  their  midst  of  a  generous  benefactor."  Miss 
Boyle  says  that  she  is  the  benefactor  referred  to,  and 
recites  how  ;^8940  had  been  given  by  her  late  brother 
to  the  priests  and  nuns  of  Tyrone  and  Derry ;  and  that, 
out  of  the  residue  of  his  property,  left  to  her,  an  addi- 
tional ^^6487  had  been  contrilDuted  to  the  same  quarters ; 
total  iJ"i 5,427!  Miss  Boyle  adds:  "The  foregoing 
explanation  may,  perhaps,  account  for  my  unexpected 
departure  from  Omagh." 

Page  303 — "  Girls  of  any  age,  between  twelve  and 
twenty,  are  to  be  found  in  scores,"  &c.  In  the  Dublin 
Police  Court,  "before  Mr.  Mahony,  on  the  i6th  of  July 

1902,   Ellen   W ,   a   girl    14  years   of  age;    Lizzie 

Br ,  18   years;   Sarah   K ,  18   years;  a  woman 

named  Mrs.  Letitia  B ;  her  daughter,  also  named 

Letitia  B ,  aged  1 7  years ;  and  a  man  named  Edward 

M ,  all  resident  in  Dublin,  were  charged  with  an 

organised  conspiracy  for  picking  pockets  on  different 
dates  within   the   past   month.     The  little  girl,  Ellen 

W ,   was   charo^ed   with   stealing   from    the    dress- 

pocket  of  a  lady  a  purse  contammg  a  sum  ot  money, 
and  also  with  picking  the  pocket  of  a  woman  on  the 
same  date,  outside  a  drapery  store  in  North  Earl  Street. 
Prisoner  was  charged  at  Store  Street,  and  there  made 
the  alarming  statement  that  she  had  been  induced  by 

Mrs.  B to  leave  her  home  without  the  consent  of 

her  parents  twelve  months  ago,  and  had  since,  at  Mrs. 
B 's  instigation,  been  engaged  in  picking  pockets. 


622  NOTES 

She  further  stated  that  she  stole  ;^5  on  Friday  night 
the  4th  inst.,  from  a  lady's  dress-pocket  in  a  sweet-shop 
in  South  George's  Street,  while  in  the  company  of  Letitia 

B ,  jun.,  and  Sarah  K .     She  brought  the  purse 

containing  this  sum  to  Mrs.  B ,  when  the  latter  burnt 

the  purse  and  went  to  the  public-house,  accompanied 

by  Edward  M .     She  ordered  two  bottles  of  stout 

and  tendered  the  £^  note  to  an  assistant  there,  who 
became  suspicious  and  asked  her  name.     She  stated  it 

was  Mary  W .     The  man  and  woman  then  returned 

to  their  home  and  divided  the  balance  of  the  money, 

giving  a  portion  to  Lizzie  B ,  Sarah   K ,  and 

Letitia  B ,  jun.,  the  latter  two  receiving  gifts  of  a 

white  sailor  hat  each.  They  all  attended  the  Empire 
and  Tivoli  music-halls  subsequently,  and  enjoyed  them- 
selves  freely.      On   the    5th   inst.,   in   consequence   of 

instructions   received  from  Sarah   K and   Letitia 

B ,  jun.,  Ellen  W again  succeeded  in  picking 

an  elderly  woman's  pocket,  which  yielded  i  is.,  the 
money  being  again  divided. 

"On  the  girl  W being  examined,  she  repeated 

those  statements,  and  added  that  Mrs.  B always 

accompanied  her  when  she  set  out  to  pick  pockets,  and 
that  she  succeeded  altogether  in  stealing  forty  purses 
during  the  past  twelve  months."  ^ 

The  entire  responsibility  for  the  awful  condition  of  our 
Roman  Catholic  poor  rests  upon  the  priests.  I  protest 
against  the  continuance  of  such  a  state  of  things  in  our 
Roman  Catholic  Church.  I  call  the  attention  of  citizens 
of  every  creed  to  the  breach  of  trust  of  which  our  priests 
are  guilty,  and  for  which  the  whole  community  suffers. 
I  ask  public  men  who  profess  to  be  statesmen  whether, 
in  view  of  the  condition  of  Catholic  Ireland,  the  priests 
can  be  said  to  be  zealous  or  trustworthy  guardians  of 
"  faith  and  morals."  Basing  my  charge  upon  sad  ex- 
perience, I  denounce  as  a  public  enemy  the  Minister 
of  State  who,  now  or  at  any  future  time,  subsidises  the 
priesthood  out  of  public  funds  on  the  assumption  that 
they  are  the  only  fit  and  proper  guardians  of  faith  and 
morals. 

'  Freevian,  July  17,  1902. 


NOTES  623 

Page  483 — "  Kildare  is  one  of  the  most  priest-infested 
counties,"  &c.  A  letter  was  read  from  the  Countess  of 
Mayo  at  a  meeting  of  the  Naas  Guardians  on  October  i , 
1902,  complaining  that,  in  performance  of  her  duty  as 
member  of  the  ladies'  committee  for  visiting  boarded- 
out  children,  she  had  been  prevented  from  visiting 
certain  children  by  the  woman  with  whom  they  boarded. 
Lady  Mayo  says :  "  Mrs.  Jones  informed  me  that  Father 
Norris  had  lately  been  there,  and  had  told  her  to  tell  me 
that  this  place  was  in  his  parish,  and  that  I  was  not  to 
visit  the  children  any  more." — Kildare  Observer. 

Page  483 — "Meath  is  a  most  priest-ridden  county." 
Amongst  the  sales  effected  at  Ballinasloe  Fair  on  October 
7,  1902,  it  is  reported  that  "Father  Dillon,  Ballinamore, 
Co.  Meath,  sold  a  hunter  for;.^!  35," — Freeman's  Journal. 

Page  5  30 — "  How  the  moral  wind  is  blowing  in  large 
districts  of  Kerry."  Last  year,  1901,  a  housemaid  in 
a  new  Kerry  hotel  went  to  a  Protestant  church  to 
witness  a  wedding.  When  she  next  went  to  confession 
the  priest  imposed  the  following  harsh  penance  upon 
her,  and  she  was  in  tears  when  sne  related  it :  She  was 
to  walk  on  her  knees  round  the  church,  holding  in  her 
mouth  a  hone  taken  from  a  pile  of  ancient,  unhuried 
human  remains  in  the  graveyard  close  by  !  That  gives 
the  clue  to  the  policy  which  drives  Catholic  girls  to 
the  bad. 

Page  592 — "  Founded  by  a  decree  of  the  debauched 
Emperor  Phocas,"  &c. — Phocas,  emperor  of  the  East, 
602-610,  "was  of  low  origin,  and  of  an  equally  low 
nature ;  ignorant,  cowardly  and  cruel,  with  no  ambition 
but  to  indulge  the  more  freely  in  lust  and  drunken- 
ness."— Maunders  and  Gates  Biography  (Longmans). 
When  Pope  Gregory  I.  died  in  a.d.  604  there  was  a 
hiatus  in  the  succession  to  the  bishopric  of  Rome. 
Boniface  IIL,  who  succeeded  in  607,  had  been  Gregory's 
representative  at  Phocas's  immoral  court  in  Constanti- 
nople, there  being  no  emperor  at  Rome ;  and  Boniface 
"  appears  to  have  been  successful,"  Avrites  Mr.  J.  Bass 
Mullinger,  "  in  completely  winning  the  favour  of  Phocas, 


624  NOTES 

who,  at  his  suggestion,  passed  a  decree  declaring  the 
'  Apostolic  Church  of  Rome '  to  be  '  the  head  of  all 
the  Churches.'"  Phocas,  amongst  other  things,  "tor- 
tured the  Empress  Constantina,  and  beheaded  her 
and  her  three  daughters ;  and  murdered  the  Emperor 
Maurice  and  his  five  sons."  We  are  informed  that : 
"  his  image,  with  that  of  his  wife  Leontia,  were  set  up 
in  the  Lateran  by  Pope  Gregory,  who  stooped  basely  to 
flatter  him."  Phocas  was  dethroned,  beheaded,  and  his 
body  was  burned  amidst  the  execrations  of  the  public 
in  6io.  So  much  for  the  respectability  of  our  over- 
exploited  antiquity. 


THE   END 


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